The Beijing Public Security Bureau will run a campaign against the illegal selling and distribution of fireworks as the New Year holiday and the Spring Festival approach, a spokesman said here Monday.
Since October, about 3.5 million firecrackers with a combined value of 33,600 yuan (US$4,048) have been seized.
A total of 34 people in 22 cases have been successfully prosecuted.
Most of the firecrackers were extremely dangerous to the public as they were made from forbidden chemical reagents, the spokesman said.
Since the municipal government enacted a regulation in 1993 to ban the ignition of fireworks during the festivals, it has been a common practice for the police to crack down on the illegal distribution of fireworks at the end of a year.
The Spring Festival of 2003 falls on February 1 and it used to be a Chinese tradition to set off fireworks on festive occasions.
(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2002)
