Chinese villagers hand over coffins to officials to promote cremations
BEIJING : Villagers from a province in eastern China have turned over close to 6,000 coffins to local officials as part of a campaign to promote cremation instead of burying the dead.
The move has triggered controversy with many villagers, especially the elderly, reluctantly taking part in the campaign, a part of the government’s efforts to encourage environmentfriendly final rites.
The campaign dissuades citizens from buying expensive wooden coffins and wasting agricultural land by using it for burials.
More than 5,780 coffins were handed over to local authorities of Gaoan village in eastern Jiangxi by residents last week, the government-run Paper.cn website reported on Sunday.
The campaign hasn’t been easy to run for the government, and is clashing with age-old traditions practised across the vast country, especially in rural areas.
For one, the tradition of burying the dead in wooden coffins is practised in many parts of China and many citizens believe it is a symbol of wealth and status.
The report says the Gaoan government is offering 2,000 yuan ($308) as compensation for every coffin surrendered, while locals spent more than 3,000 yuan on an average on making one.
The website had reported earlier that the destruction of more than 1,000 wooden coffins to promote ecofriendly funeral reforms in the same province had sparked a backlash on Chinese social media. Many believe bodies should be kept intact after death.
Under President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are punished if they violate regulations on funerals, including buying lavish tombs to bury the dead.