Protests in rural China have thwarted government attempts to enforce cremation in place of traditional burials, demonstrators say, as economic pressures fuel unrest in poor areas.
Such outbursts of dissent are rare in China, where authorities act swiftly to stamp out civil disobedience on the ground and online, although monitors said localized protests appear to be increasing.
Since last month, videos have shown crowds in mountainous Guizhou Province confronting officials who allegedly tried to force the cremation of dead people despite the strong local preference for burials.
Photo: Reuters
The Chinese government has promoted cremation for decades, saying it preserves land, reduces costs and represents “modern” funeral practice.
Cremation is commonplace in cities, but many rural communities view burials as an essential rite for the dead.
The recent unrest in Guizhou’s Mushan Village in Xifeng County began after officials tried to force the cremation of a recently buried resident, locals and relatives of the deceased said.
“They would come every day to harass my family,” one relative said, adding that drones monitored the site overhead. Videos — many of them now apparently removed by China’s online censors — showed crowds of dozens of people guarding burial grounds from local officials who residents said wanted to exhume the body.
A 37-year-old Xifeng resident surnamed Shen said he and many others had traveled to Mushan to support the family of the deceased in undertaking a burial.
Authorities showed “disrespect for local customs,” Shen said.
The family “worried that the body would be forcibly dug up and cremated,” he said, adding that their watch continued throughout the night.
By the end of last month, police blocked roads into Mushan, stopping supplies and supporters from entering, Shen said.
Local authorities were “forcibly preventing the incident from spreading and stopping the people from protecting their rights,” he said.
While exceptions exist for 10 mainly Muslim ethnic minorities, the state encourages cremation wherever local conditions allow.
George Mason University anthropology associate professor Liu Huwy-min said that for China’s Han majority — which makes up more than 90 percent of the population — burial has ancient roots.
Traditionally, body burials were “at the core of thinking about what being a person means for Han Chinese,” she said.
So when cremation is done “by force, and people aren’t ready for it,” opposition is likely, Liu added.
In 2016, some elderly residents in Anqing, a city in Anhui Province, reportedly killed themselves to ensure they were buried before a new cremation mandate.
A 2018 campaign against burials in Jiangxi Province sparked an outcry, including from state media, after videos showed officials destroying coffins.
After nearly a month-long standoff in Mushan, authorities have stayed away, another relative of the deceased said.
“Everything has now subsided,” they said, confirming the body remains buried.
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