Make me your Homepage
    left corner left corner
    China Daily Website

    Anhui incident exposes gap in burial policy

    Updated: 2013-12-31 01:59
    By He Dan in Beijing and Wang Zhenghua in Shanghai ( China Daily)

    Officials discussing settlement with family after exhuming, burning body

    Authorities in Anhui province said on Monday that they are looking into a dispute that has erupted after officials exhumed and cremated a body without the permission of the dead person's family.

    The case exposed administrative problems and legal loopholes that challenge China's efforts to move from a burial culture to one of cremation in order to save land, experts said.

    The controversy began after Cheng Chaomu, 83, died in Qinfeng village in Jingxian county on Dec 13. His family buried him three days later, saying it was his dying wish.

    Shortly after the burial, the family received an order from the Jingxian county civil affairs bureau demanding they make proper cremation arrangements.

    On Dec 19, county officials, police and firefighters went to Qinfeng, exhumed the body and burned it.

    Under national law, cremation is mandatory in "cremation zones". Local governments can divide their administrative regions into cremation and burial zones, with most burial zones being in less-populated, economically disadvantaged areas, and most cremation zones being in cities.

    In the Jingxian case, "They just dug it up, poured on two barrels of diesel and set it on fire," said Cheng Yingfu, Cheng Chaomu's oldest son.

    He said no family members were present when the body was exhumed.

    Footage from Anhui TV showed a clash between villagers and police after the forced cremation.

    The Jingxian county government declined to comment on the matter on Monday. A spokesman from the county's public security bureau said he was unaware of the case.

    The Mirror newspaper in Beijing quoted an unnamed county official as saying his authority was asked to report the incident to the provincial government, and a county representative has been summoned to Hefei, the provincial capital, to assist in the investigation.

    The official said the county had been talking to family members to reach a settlement, and he insisted they were told ahead of time of the cremation plans.

    Cheng's family said the county government acted in "retribution" for a dispute last year over relocation compensation, saying other households had buried loved ones without being punished.

    Bao Yuan, director of the Huanqiu Funeral Institute, criticized the local officials' actions, saying, "Digging up a corpse and cremating it immediately at the burial plot was inhumane and showed little respect for the deceased and the family."

    Although the case was "rare and extreme", it exposed problems in government administration, said Bao, who has studied funeral reform in China for more than 20 years.

    The State Council, China's Cabinet, amended regulations on funeral management in 2012 by abandoning a rule that the government can resort to forced cremation if family members of the deceased refuse to cremate the body or bury the body in a designated cemetery.

    However, the revised law failed to clarify the proper response for local governments if residents don't cooperate, Bao said. The result is chaos and inappropriate responses by local governments, he added.

    Chen Chunlong, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the family could potentially take the county civil affairs bureau to court.

    However, the family said it is petitioning for the release of several people detained in the Dec 19 conflict instead.

    Funeral reform

    The central government asked Party members and government officials to take the lead in promoting the practice of cremation earlier this month.

    The cremation rate dropped to 49.5 percent in 2012 from 53 in 2005, Civil Affairs Minister Li Liguo said on Wednesday.

    He said promoting cremation is necessary to save land resources, protect arable land to ensure food safety, and to protect the environment.

    China began to promote cremation in 1956 after 151 Party and central governmental officials signed an initiative to cremate their bodies and build no graves after their deaths, Li said.

    China's funeral reform has faced challenges, including instances of some people in cremation zones secretly burying their relatives. Some officials abuse their power, building extravagant burial plots and holding banquets after the funeral to get envelopes filled of money from attendees, usually businessmen and subordinates, he said.

    For these reasons, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council jointly issued guidance this month that require Party members and governmental officials to follow regulations on funerals and set an example for ordinary people.

    The guidance stipulated that all Party members and governmental officials must choose cremation if conditions allow and hold a simply ceremony. Both Party members and government officials are encouraged to donate their organs and bodies after death.

    Contact the writers at hedan@chinadaily.com.cn and wangzhenghua@chinadaily.com.cn.

    8.03K
     
    ...
    ...
    ...
    99久久无码一区人妻| 中文字幕日本精品一区二区三区| www.中文字幕| 精品人体无码一区二区三区| 久久久久久国产精品无码下载| 中文字幕乱码人妻无码久久| 亚洲av无码不卡| 国产台湾无码AV片在线观看| 亚洲精品乱码久久久久久中文字幕| 国产成人午夜无码电影在线观看| 久久久无码精品亚洲日韩京东传媒 | 一级片无码中文字幕乱伦| 亚洲精品无码AV中文字幕电影网站 | 少妇人妻综合久久中文字幕| 人妻系列无码专区无码中出| 成人无码区免费A片视频WWW| 最近免费中文字幕MV在线视频3 | 无码精品久久久久久人妻中字| 欧美亚洲精品中文字幕乱码免费高清| 亚洲 另类 无码 在线| 国产成人无码精品久久久免费| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区在线| 久久午夜无码鲁丝片秋霞| 无码成人精品区在线观看| 最近免费视频中文字幕大全 | 中文字幕精品一区影音先锋 | 亚洲色成人中文字幕网站| 无码专区国产无套粉嫩白浆内射| 91久久九九无码成人网站 | 久久精品无码一区二区app| 色综合久久久久无码专区| 亚洲AV无码专区国产乱码电影 | 亚洲va中文字幕无码久久| 亚洲日韩国产二区无码| 亚洲国产AV无码专区亚洲AV| 亚洲精品97久久中文字幕无码| 亚洲福利中文字幕在线网址| 亚洲精品一级无码中文字幕| 爆操夜夜操天天操狠操中文| 最近中文字幕高清字幕在线视频 | 中文精品无码中文字幕无码专区|