Passengers queue up to buy train tickets at a ticket booth in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province January 10, 2005. As the winter holidays for universities and colleges are coming, many students flock to the train stations or ticket booths for tickets in the run-up to Spring Festival, which falls on February 9 this year.[newsphoto]

In the run-up to Spring Festival or Chinese Lunar New Year, the nation's most important holiday, repetition of problems has made it high time to press for needed reforms. 

Most Chinese will try to be reunited with their family for the Spring Festival. And for some, working or studying far from home, it is the only occasion in the year they will be together.

But for some February 9 - the date of this year's Lunar New Year - will be a time of sad remembrance of lost loved ones.

On Tuesday, a deadly explosion at a village fireworks factory in Shanxi Province killed 25 and injured 11.

Traditionally, firecrackers are lit across China to mark Spring Festival and other big celebrations. Some cities have banned the setting off of fireworks, citing environmental and safety concerns. But the public's die-hard passion for this festival activity is forcing many of them to reconsider their original decision.

The fun that firecrackers bring is in sharp contrast to the tragedy of the Shanxi fireworks blast.

Yet, more worrying is the fact that it is just one in a string of recent incidents to hit the industry.

Poor safety standards in many fireworks factories have grabbed even more headlines of late than those in coal mines, the country's most dangerous industrial sector, as they gear up production ahead of Spring Festival celebrations.

The tragedy in Shanxi provides alarming evidence that local officials have much to do to improve work safety supervision in local enterprises.

An immediate inspection across the industry is needed, but only continuing supervision can prevent tragedies from reoccurring.

Another holiday-related problem is the price hike of train tickets.

It is easy to come to a consensus on the long-term solution - to expand railway transportation capacity. Given the country's 1.3 billion population, the average length of stretch of railway for every Chinese is said to be no longer than that of a cigarette.

As it takes time and money to complete such a long-term task, the focus should be on finding a short-term answer to the temporary imbalance between pent-up demand and limited supply.

The Ministry of Railways recently announced its plan to inflate ticket prices by 15 to 20 per cent in the coming peak days ahead of, and after, Spring Festival.

Since the practice repeats what the railway system did following a public hearing on ticket prices held in 2002, a new one on the matter was deemed unnecessary by some railway officials.

A trend has been developing among migrant workers to make the homeward journey ahead of the seasonal price hike.

This demonstrates, to some extent, that price differences do impact and adjust demand.

But it also reveals which group is bearing the brunt of such price increases. The cost to migrant workers of avoiding price hikes comes at the expense of lost earnings.

The railway system is a clear beneficiary of the blanket rise in ticket prices since demand still far exceeds its transportation capacity.

Should the railway system lower the price a little bit to compensate those migrant workers who have to leave their jobs early?

Such topics are what another public hearing needs to address.

As the whole country moves towards building a balanced and stable society, the welfare of the many should be higher on the priority list of the powers that be.

Editor: Nit