第2663期:Chinese Debate Fireworks Ban

Chinese lawmakers recently entered a fierce online debate on whether fireworks should be used to celebrate the Lunar New year this February. They said a total ban on fireworks in the country credited with inventing the noisemakers would be hard to enforce. 中国立法者最近就是否应使用烟花来庆祝今年2月的农历新年。 他们说，对该国的烟花汇演的全面禁令将很难发明噪声制造商。

Lawmakers said air pollution prevention and fire safety laws have led to "differences in understanding" of the ban on fireworks. However, it was never a total ban. 议员们说，预防空气污染和消防法已导致“理解”对禁令的理解差异。 但是，这绝不是完全禁令。

In 2017, official data showed 444 cities had banned fireworks. Since then, some of the cities have loosened the bans. They permit fireworks at certain times of the year and at special places. 2017年，官方数据显示，有444个城市禁止了烟火。 从那以后，一些城市松开了禁令。 它们在一年中的某些时间和特殊地方允许烟火。

This month, however, many counties made announcements banning fireworks, restarting discussion on the ban. 但是，本月，许多县发布了禁止烟火的宣布，重新启动了有关禁令的讨论。

"We've the right to fireworks," wrote a user of Weibo, a popular Chinese online discussion service. “我们有权烟火，”一家流行的中国在线讨论服务微博的用户写道。

Chinese folklore says the earliest fireworks were invented 2,000 years ago to drive away the "nian.” The nian, the story goes, was a monster that hunted people and animals before the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival. 中国民间传说说，最早的烟花是在2000年前发明的，以驱逐“尼安”。 故事讲的是，尼安（Nian）是一个怪物，在农历新年或春季节之前猎杀了人和动物。

Since then, fireworks came to be used to celebrate other events. This January, after three years of COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, some people ignored bans - and officials - and set off firecrackers. 从那时起，烟花开始被用来庆祝其他活动。 今年1月，在取消了三年的Covid -19限制之后，有些人忽略了禁令和官员，并引发了鞭炮。

Some Chinese say the fireworks bans were necessary to protect the environment. 一些中国人说，烟火禁令是保护环境的必要条件。

An online opinion study by the official Beijing Youth Daily found that over 80 percent of people supported fireworks during Spring Festival. The festival is the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar. 北京青年日报的一项在线意见研究发现，超过80％的人在春季音乐节上支持烟花。 节日是中国日历上最重要的假期。

Some also said the ban was ironic after the United Nations recently named the Spring Festival an official holiday, a move supported by Chinese officials.一些人还说，该禁令是讽刺的，在联合国最近将春节命名为正式假期之后，这一举动是由中国官员支持的。

"The Spring Festival belongs to the world, but China's is almost gone," wrote another Weibo user. 另一位微博用户写道：“春节属于世界，但中国几乎消失了。

”Southern Hunan province is a worldwide supplier of fireworks. Its exports totaled $579 million from January to November, state media reported. That number is far greater than domestic sales. 匈奴省南部是全球烟火供应商。 据州媒体报道，从1月到11月，其出口总额为5.79亿美元。 这个数字远大于国内销售。