Although the Beijing municipal government prohibits the lighting of fireworks within the confines of this Chinese capital, a large number of people were injured by setting off such illegal explosives over the recent Spring Festival holidays.

"I will never touch firecrackers again," said a seven-year-old child, whose face and one of whose hands were seriously burned, as he received treatment at the No. 304 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army.

The hospital has received 143 people injured by fireworks since February 11, including over 100 children aged from four to seven.

Statistics indicate that from February 11 to 16, about 260 people were sent to hospitals to be treated for injuries caused byfireworks.

Since December 1993, when Beijing introduced the ban, few people have been injured by fireworks, which have been the traditional Chinese way of celebrating festivals for centuries, and there have been far fewer fires caused by them.

But over the past few years, cases of illegally setting off firecrackers in the city have increased. This has caused a seriesof injuries, not to mention increased noise and air pollution, andseveral fires, resulting in heavy financial losses.

So far this year, the city's fire brigades have received 181 reports of fires.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2002)