Share Story
Send to KindleRelated News
Villagers forced to dig up ancestral tombs
By Li Qian |
November 23, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
VILLAGERS were forced to dig up ancestral graves in Henan Province despite a state ban, protests and two accidental deaths, media reports said.
Zhoukou City in the province in April ordered counties and towns to exhume and cremate bodies, remove all tombstones and place the urns in public cemeteries within three years, according to a government report.
The city had offered a 300,000 yuan (US$48,100) reward to the first five counties to finish removing tombs while those lagging behind would be fined, People's Daily reported. Officials that spear-headed successful tomb-removing campaigns were promised promotions while those that disobeyed risked losing their jobs and further punishment, the report said.
Official data published on November 7 showed nearly 2.35 million of Zhoukou's 3.5 million tombs had been relocated, regaining 2,000 hectares of farmland. Due to its impressive performance, the city was awarded 3 million yuan from the provincial government, Zhoukou Daily reported.
In rural areas, cremations are rare and people often randomly choose a plot of land to bury deceased family members.
The move sparked wide outrage among villagers, who believe deceased family members need to be buried with a complete body to ensure a peaceful afterlife.
To persuade people to follow the plan, Zhang Fang, 70, a Party member, played a leading role in the grave removals, The Beijing News reported.
While Zhang, his daughter in-law and sister's husband were removing an ancestor's tombstone in October, it collapsed. His relatives were killed in the mishap.
The case created a media frenzy.
"Their ancestors must feel angry and decided to take revenge as buckets of bones were spilled everywhere," a microblogger posted online.
There were claims the city government would sell the land retrieved from removing grave sites to developers for huge profits. The Zhoukou government denied this claim, saying it wanted to relieve villagers from the burden of expensive rituals and make room for agricultural development, People's Daily reported.
On November 16, the State Council, or China's Cabinet, eliminated a clause that allowed forced demolitions of grave sites. But Zhoukou continued with the grave site removals, the newspaper said.
The Henan Civil Affairs Bureau said it didn't order Zhoukou to remove the tombs.
Zhoukou City in the province in April ordered counties and towns to exhume and cremate bodies, remove all tombstones and place the urns in public cemeteries within three years, according to a government report.
The city had offered a 300,000 yuan (US$48,100) reward to the first five counties to finish removing tombs while those lagging behind would be fined, People's Daily reported. Officials that spear-headed successful tomb-removing campaigns were promised promotions while those that disobeyed risked losing their jobs and further punishment, the report said.
Official data published on November 7 showed nearly 2.35 million of Zhoukou's 3.5 million tombs had been relocated, regaining 2,000 hectares of farmland. Due to its impressive performance, the city was awarded 3 million yuan from the provincial government, Zhoukou Daily reported.
In rural areas, cremations are rare and people often randomly choose a plot of land to bury deceased family members.
The move sparked wide outrage among villagers, who believe deceased family members need to be buried with a complete body to ensure a peaceful afterlife.
To persuade people to follow the plan, Zhang Fang, 70, a Party member, played a leading role in the grave removals, The Beijing News reported.
While Zhang, his daughter in-law and sister's husband were removing an ancestor's tombstone in October, it collapsed. His relatives were killed in the mishap.
The case created a media frenzy.
"Their ancestors must feel angry and decided to take revenge as buckets of bones were spilled everywhere," a microblogger posted online.
There were claims the city government would sell the land retrieved from removing grave sites to developers for huge profits. The Zhoukou government denied this claim, saying it wanted to relieve villagers from the burden of expensive rituals and make room for agricultural development, People's Daily reported.
On November 16, the State Council, or China's Cabinet, eliminated a clause that allowed forced demolitions of grave sites. But Zhoukou continued with the grave site removals, the newspaper said.
The Henan Civil Affairs Bureau said it didn't order Zhoukou to remove the tombs.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
