It is illegal to completely ban fireworks and firecrackers! Legal experts call for more choices to be given to the public.

Cctv news(Reporter/Yang Wei): By the end of the year, whether to lift the ban on fireworks has once again become a hot topic of public discussion.

On December 26th, the the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) Municipal Law Commission reported the record review in 2023 to the seventh session of the 14th the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC). According to a typical case, the report puts forward suggestions on the provisions of some local laws and regulations on "completely prohibiting the sale and discharge of fireworks and firecrackers", arguing that this is inconsistent with the relevant provisions of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution and the Regulations on the Safety Management of Fireworks and Firecrackers, and local governments need to amend the ban on burning according to law. This suggestion rekindled people’s expectation of "fireworks flying to welcome the New Year".

The appearance of the "no-burning order" is actually traceable. At the end of 1980s, the incidents of property loss and personal injury caused by setting off fireworks and firecrackers in major cities in China increased year by year, and the safety of fireworks and firecrackers attracted attention. In 1986, the Beijing Municipal People’s Government issued the Interim Provisions on the Safety Management of Fireworks and Firecrackers in Beijing, which involved the prohibition of burning in some places.

In 1988, the Fifth Session of the Sixth National People’s Congress proposed to strengthen the production and discharge safety of fireworks and firecrackers. In 1987 and 1993, respectively, Beijing began to implement the management policies and bans on the safety of fireworks and firecrackers. Subsequently, 282 cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Xi ‘an also issued similar laws.

However, during the implementation of the ban, there is still a call for "lifting the ban on fireworks". After discussion and consultation, the policy of fireworks and firecrackers was "forbidden to change restrictions". At the end of 2006, more than 200 cities across the country gradually relaxed restrictions on fireworks and firecrackers.

However, the smog problem has once again triggered a discussion on the prohibition of burning fireworks and firecrackers. In this context, more and more people are in favor of controlling the fireworks and firecrackers. After 2013, the scope of the ban on burning has gradually expanded, and the policy of setting off fireworks and firecrackers has been tightened again.

According to the data of the Ministry of Public Security, in 2017, fireworks and firecrackers were prohibited in 444 cities and restricted in 764 cities. In 2018, fireworks and firecrackers were prohibited in 803 cities above the county level.

By the beginning of 2023, there were many measures to loosen the regulations on setting off fireworks and firecrackers, and changed "prohibition" to "restriction". Shanghai, Liaoning and other places stipulate that fireworks can be set off in specific time periods and specific areas.

CCTV News+reporter interviewed Wang Chengdong, a professor of administrative law at China University of Political Science and Law, and Xie Zhiyong, vice president of the Legal Research Association of Beijing Government and professor of comparative law school of China University of Political Science and Law, to discuss related issues together.

"News+"reporter: What signal did the NPC Law Committee send?

Wang chengdong: This signal is very clear. First, it is a response to the people’s desire to feel the lively atmosphere of Chinese New Year and festivals. Second, in the more than 20 years since 1988, under the background of environmental protection, the restrictions on fireworks and firecrackers have become a kind of prohibition, and it is a universal prohibition. This voice means that the NPC system, including the NPC Law Committee, reflects or guides this comprehensive ban.

From all over the country, this year’s Spring Festival should have a little more "Year" flavor, because this is the voice of the people.

Xie ZhiyongFirst, from the perspective of the implementation of the Constitution and the unification of the national legal system, the Constitution requires all laws, regulations and rules to be consistent with the Constitution, which is the basic requirement of a country ruled by law, or a basic requirement of the Constitution. Laws and administrative regulations do not require that all fireworks and firecrackers be banned, but require all localities to regulate according to their actual conditions.

Second, from the perspective of protecting excellent traditional culture or folk culture, limiting the discharge or banning the burning is actually beneficial to protecting air quality and the safety of urban dense areas, but it also has a negative impact, and the taste of the year is getting weaker and weaker, without the feeling of "one year in the firecrackers", which is actually a great and hidden cultural loss for us.

In a sense, some folk customs related to the Spring Festival now have the characteristics of cultural heritage, which we should protect well, and folk customs also need to be protected by the rule of law, so that people can have a stable expectation.

Third, fireworks and firecrackers are not only related to the issue of discharge, but also supported by the industrial chain. According to the original law, if an enterprise obtains an administrative license, it is a legal operation. If it is closed and banned, it will not only damage the industrial chain, but also damage the trust and interests of ordinary people.

Fourthly, this represents a good start, and such an approach also echoes Report to the 20th CPC National Congress’s special emphasis on building an innovative society. We should carry out innovative development and high-quality development, which is a good opportunity.

"News+"reporter: What is the record review?

Xie ZhiyongFiling review embodies an important constitutional principle of our country. Specifically, the subordinate law stipulated in the Legislative Law must obey the superior law, that is, the subordinate law must be consistent with the provisions of the superior law and cannot conflict. Simply speaking, all laws cannot conflict with the Constitution. The mechanism to ensure this is called filing review system, that is, when the subordinate administrative organ or the lower legislature formulates the subordinate law, it must be reported to the higher legislature.

The specific provisions will be more detailed. For example, some local laws and regulations should be filed with the National People’s Congress and the legal institutions in the State Council, that is, the institutions in the current judicial administrative organs.

"News+"reporter: What do you think of the provisions of local laws and regulations prohibiting the sale and discharge of fireworks?

Wang chengdongIn the past, there was a "one size fits all" situation, which should be viewed from the past time dimension, that is, returning to environmental pollution.

Environmental pollution is not only caused by setting off fireworks, but also by industrial development itself. However, it is undeniable that the pollution caused by the intensive discharge of fireworks and firecrackers in a period of time will increase rapidly.

Therefore, in this context, the demand for air quality will appear, which is also an objective concept. However, starting from the legal norms themselves, the understanding of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in various places is biased and incomplete, and it belongs to legislation with more emotions. This is also an objective reality, so we should now return to reality and return to the legal norms themselves.

"News+"reporter: Do you think we should "relax" the ban on burning fireworks and firecrackers?

Wang chengdongSetting off fireworks and firecrackers is an important traditional culture in China, an effective expression of people’s happiness or sorrow, and it is also a natural right of citizens.

This opportunity provided by the Law Committee is very good, which shows that some traditional powers should be respected and maintained.

In modern society, the relationship between man and nature is becoming more and more tense. Under this background, the traditional natural rights have changed from being comfortable, self-motivated and spontaneous to being restricted or empowered by the state through laws and become a legal right.

With the development of industrialization, environmental damage has led to the damage of people’s health, and the previous concept of complete control is not applicable to the current social environment, so we should look at the problem in two.

In addition, judging from the situation of national legislation, whether it is the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in People’s Republic of China (PRC) or the relevant administrative regulations in the State Council, there is indeed no "one size fits all" for setting off fireworks and firecrackers. China has a vast territory and a large population, and the situation varies from place to place, from city to country, and from region to region in the same city.

The "one size fits all" of local laws and regulations does not meet the requirements of the Air Pollution Prevention Law and relevant administrative regulations.

Therefore, we should treat the problem of setting off fireworks and firecrackers rationally. In principle, we should not blindly "block", but should combine "sparse", "sparse" and "blocked", and combine restriction with guidance.

"News+"reporter: How to set off fireworks and firecrackers is reasonable?

Wang chengdongI think the reasonable way to set off fireworks at present is to set off fireworks in different regions and at different times to allow people to enjoy traditional culture. The noise of fireworks is also a kind of taste.

Mega-cities are densely populated, and unlimited discharge in a short time will not only have a health impact on ordinary people, but also cause greater damage to patients and infants. Therefore, in the areas around hospitals, kindergartens, primary schools and nursing homes, it can be properly controlled, while for other areas, locations can be designated and discharged within a specified time.

At the same time, we should emphasize what kind of environment we should live in, and more choices should be given to the people. Each city has its own characteristics, which should not be too dull. It is more appropriate to decide on the basis of local characteristics, provincial conditions, city conditions, district conditions and county conditions.

Xie ZhiyongIt is undeniable that there may be some dangerous factors and pollution factors in the process of setting off fireworks and firecrackers, which are also objective.

If the local laws and regulations are revised, the production and discharge of fireworks and firecrackers may be resumed to a certain extent, which requires us to further improve the technology. Now science and technology have made great progress, and the disadvantages caused by fireworks in the past can be controlled to some extent. Therefore, can we consider the off-peak discharge in different time periods and different areas?

Of course, this is a good opportunity for several aspects to appear together. In any case, we should keep up with our management measures and avoid the vicious circle of "rushing headlong into a hubbub and dispersing in a hubbub".