Protests have been happening in China against the firecrackers ban across cities. Videos have emerged on social media platforms where the protesters overturned a police vehicle on January 2. The residents defied the orders at many locations and set off fireworks to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
突发！网友投稿
— 李老师不是你老师 (@whyyoutouzhele) January 2, 2023
今晚河南周口，因燃放烟花引起纠纷，警察试图带走放烟花的人，民众围住警车要求放人，最后警车被掀翻 pic.twitter.com/01ihJ3TRe2
As per social media posts, the police said protesters “deliberately vandalized a police car … causing chaos at the scene”. The incident occurred around 11 PM (local time) on January 2. The police arrested six people. In the videos, people were seen jumping on the police car. Another man in a black jacket was seen holding the license plate of the police car that was ripped off from the vehicle.
Riots against the government are taking place all over China.
— མེ་ཏོག🌸noun (@noun1957) January 4, 2023
In Henan Province, on the 2nd, police stopped a fireworks display to celebrate the New Year and took away young people. On the other hand, there was a commotion that the public overturned the police patrol car. pic.twitter.com/OI0wIm8PFr
The incident reportedly occurred after the police tried to impose the firecrackers ban. Soon after, the crowd blocked the pathway and did not let the police car leave. They threw drinks and smashed the car. Later, the car was overturned by the protesters.
A #Chinese police car was overturned by a crowd protesting the New Year’s Eve fireworks ban in China. pic.twitter.com/jdXltJqsOV
— Daily Turkic (@DailyTurkic) January 3, 2023
Reports suggest that the ban will continue until the Lunar New Year, starting later this month. However, people continued to burst crackers to defy the ban on New Year’s Eve. Deliberate setting off of fireworks was reported in multiple cities, including Guangxi, Shandong and Chongqing. Political commentator Wang Jian in a statement, said that though the ban has been imposed across the country, people are defying it everywhere.
中国河北石家庄，这么多人看着一男子因放烟花被拘捕。#烟花革命 pic.twitter.com/OSTfU4sZuN
— ChinaNews JayPro (@JayPro_China) January 3, 2023
This is the second time China has seen widespread protests in three months. In November this year, people in China took to the streets to protest against China’s Zero-Covid policy, resulting in multiple strict lockdowns in several cities. They held blank white printing papers, and it was popularised as the “White Paper” campaign. They also demanded the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the ruling Communist Party step down and called for elections.
The firecrackers ban in China
China pats its back for the invention of firecrackers along with gunpowder. However, over time, firecrackers have been propagated as one of the major sources of pollution in the country. Firecrackers were banned in Beijing for the first time in 1993 after reportedly 544 people were injured in firecrackers-related incidents. Over 200 letters were sent to the government demanding a ban on firecrackers.
As the ban was not practical and people defied it every now and then, the government proposed changing the law and allowing some relaxation. In 2005, the government lifted the complete ban and allowed people to burst crackers around Lunar New Year. In 2012, when the air quality declined in Chinese cities, the ban was reinforced.
Chinese firecrackers problem in India
Chinese firecrackers are known for having inadequate quality control and are often considered more polluting than Indian firecrackers. Low prices and easy availability of Chinese firecrackers had caused the Indian local market of fireworks to collapse in India. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has notified various government departments on several occasions about the illegally imported fireworks from China. As per government guidelines, importing fireworks from foreign countries is banned in India. A 2016 notification clearly mentioned that India has never provided any license to import fireworks into the country. However, the rampant availability of low-quality Chinese cheap fireworks has caused not only environmental problems in the country but also resulted in unemployment at large scale in the fireworks industry.
