County forces cremations over burials

Commentary warns of danger in hastily collecting coffins

A county in East China’s Jiangxi Province vowed to eliminate all traditional burials by September 1 in a controversial funeral reform that eyes forced cremations.

A statement posted on the Ji’an county government’s website on July 23 said all corpses must be cremated starting September 1. The government also said it will further regulate the funeral-related merchandise market and crack down on random land burials.

The document came as rumors began to circulate online, claiming traditionally buried corpses in Ji’an would be dug up from the tomb and cremated.

The news could not be immediately verified by the Global Times.

An employee of the Ji’an county crematorium, who declined to be named, told the Global Times on Monday that “We need the death certificates and family members’ signatures to approve the cremation,” denying corpses had been dug up and cremated.

A Guangming Daily commentary on Monday said that local governments in regions including Ji’an, Yichuan in Jiangxi had sent law enforcement teams to break into farmer households to forcibly ransack pre-prepared coffins, and once found, would gather and destroy them.

In a photo attached to the article, three tractors were seen smashing the coffins in an open field.

The commentary called such a management method “rule of failure,” which might work at the moment, but poses a danger to long-term social management.

As a local practice in many villages in Jiangxi, senior citizens have their coffins prepared when they turn 60 and keep them at home, as they believe that the earlier they prepare one the longer they would live and it would also bring good fortune to the family.

Local authorities smashed more than 1,000 wooden coffins in Jiangxi in late April to push forward a controversial campaign to discourage locals from traditional burials and promote cremations, Global Times had reported.

Villagers who voluntarily surrender coffins could receive from 1,000 to 2,500 yuan ($370), while those who refuse to cooperate would get nothing and might even be fined, previous reports said.

A similar campaign was conducted in Anqing, East China’s Anhui Province, where an 88-year-old woman drank pesticide so that she could die lying in her coffin, The Beijing News reported in 2014.

“The green funeral reform is part of China’s development but should strike a balance with tradition.” Zhu Wei, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Monday.

“Authorities should never use force regardless of their intent,” Zhu noted.

“The reform should be gradually implemented, as people need up to 20 years to accept the change,” Zhu said.