Society
Expensive cemetery sparks debate
By Cui Jia (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-29 08:06
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A state-of-the-art cemetery in Hunan province's Hengnan county is screaming for attention not just because it looks like an imperial tomb but also because its owner is an ex-official.
Guarded by two stone lions, Liu's Family Cemetery, the words carved in the marbled entrance, lies half way up a mountain.
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But local authorities claim it is sprawled across 420 sq m of land, which the owners "don't have the permit to use".
The authorities have already launched an investigation.
"We built the cemetery after my mother died of cancer in 2003. It was my father's wish to be buried beside her when he dies," Liu's son said. "We occupied the land through a proper legal channel and we have documents to prove it. Also, the area is not a farmland, but uncultivated land."
He added the authorities must have added the area of the path leading to the cemetery to their measurements.
"And there are so many family cemeteries that cost more than 1 million yuan. I don't understand why people are singling out our cemetery.
"We just want to show our respect to my mother, especially since we can afford it."
Liu's Family Cemetery has caused quite a stir among the public after photographs were recently posted on the Internet.
"People can do whatever they want with their cemetery as long it is legal and they can afford it," a netizen commented.
Some said the cemetery cost too much and occupied too much land, adding that an end should be put to such a practice.
"The law doesn't stipulate a limit on the size of cemeteries as long as it is legal," said Shi Tie'er, director of the social work department of the Changsha Social Work College.
"But it definitely sets a bad example when officials spend so much money to build such big and expensive cemeteries. The practice needs to be discouraged," Shi said, adding people should spend money on their loved ones while they are alive, not dead.
