Even in death, frugality is urged as China lays down funeral rules
Print Edition
Chinese officials have been told to set an example through civilized and frugal funerals, in the latest anti-extravagance offensive.
“Party members and officials should set an example with simple, civilized funerals ... No funeral parlors should be set up at residential communities, streets and public venues ... Superstitious practices should be avoided,” said a document made public yesterday.
Funerals are increasingly a platform to show off wealth and connections, with the degree of opulence and number of mourners symbolizing the “achievements” of the dead, and setting a benchmark for competition among the living.
“Except in the case of stipulations from the state, funeral arrangement groups and mourning memorials in general should not be held for deceased Party members and officials,” said the document.
Body farewell ceremonies should be modest and strictly controlled in scale, it added.
The document was released by the State Council and the Party’s Central Committee.
Party members and officials are strictly forbidden from hosting luxurious funerals or taking advantage of the occasion to collect condolence money from visitors, said the document. Wishes of the deceased for a simple ceremony should be respected and supported by their relatives, friends and former working places.
The document follows a string of moves against official decadence and suggests Party officials donate their organs after death and choose cremation or other environmentally-friendly forms of disposal.
“In densely populated regions the bodies of Party members and officials must be cremated ... And their gravestones should not exceed set standards,” it said, adding that funerals for ethnic groups may be held in accordance with tradition.
The document also went into details on paying respects to the dead, proposing tree planting, flowers and eulogies while banning fireworks and the burning of paper money in forest areas and near tourist attractions.
Party officials were asked to tell friends and relatives about the rules and report violators.
The public has perennial complaints about overpriced funerals, and most notably, cemetery plots.
The cost of a half-meter plot in Shanghai or Beijing cemeteries can easily reach tens of thousands of dollars.
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