Experts are calling for less heavy-handed enforcement after two villagers were detained for organizing unauthorized dragon boat events in the eastern Zhejiang province. 

Falling on June 22 this year, the Dragon Boat Festival is one of China’s major traditional holidays, but local authorities around China have clamped down on unauthorized events in recent years over safety concerns.  

The two men, 62-year-old Huang and 57-year-old Li, were handed administrative detentions of nine days and seven days respectively for violating local rules banning private dragon boat events without government approval in the city of Rui’an, according to a local police statement on June 11. The pair had organized a practice session on June 9, when all the paddlers had fallen into the water after their boat sank. There were no casualties.  

The police added that they will strengthen supervision of dragon boat events, warning that those who violate the ban could be held criminally liable.

Following news of the detentions, some experts have questioned whether local enforcement is too harsh. Chen Huawen, a folklore expert and honorary director of the Zhejiang Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Base, told Sixth Tone’s sister publication The Paper that dragon boat racing is a folk custom and should be promoted as such. 

“We should encourage local communities and folk groups to inherit and develop dragon boat culture,” he said, adding that local governments should come up with measures to improve safety rather than enforce a blanket ban.

Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, told The Paper that the “one-size-fits-all” blanket ban is psychologically damaging for people. While recognizing that the local government’s intentions to improve safety are good, he also called for more consideration for the passing down of folk traditions. 

China has seen several major incidents of participants dying at dragon boat events in recent years due to poor safety measures. In 2018, seventeen people died in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region after two dragon boats overturned next to a weir. Local events have also led to violence, including in 2008 when conflict between villagers led to Rui’an’s ban on private events. 

Among the public, Rui’an’s swift punishment of the dragon boat organizers has been met with mixed reactions. While some understand the safety concerns, others believe the local government went too far. A poll on microblogging platform Weibo with more than 2,300 respondents shows that roughly 65% of respondents disagree with the blanket ban on private events, comparing it to “giving up eating for fear of choking,” a common Chinese saying. 

Other local governments around China also have bans on privately organized dragon boat races, such as Jiujiang District in Anhui’s Wuhu City and Longgang in Zhejiang’s Wenzhou City.

Editor: Vincent Chow. 

(Header image: A dragon boat competition in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, June 8, 2023. VCG)