In the traditional concept of Chinese, special attention is paid to loyalty and filial piety! Although there is a policy to promote the change of customs and prohibit large-scale operations for folk weddings and funerals, it should also be viewed in concrete light according to the actual situation.
In Wenzhou, Zhejiang, a woman set up two tables of wine in her hometown due to her father's death to thank relatives and friends who helped take care of her father's funeral, but the village cadres detained the ashes for 3 hours and was fined 5,000 yuan.
The reason of the village cadres was that the higher authorities stipulated that it was forbidden to set up banquets after sending them to the funeral home, but they could not provide the relevant legal basis. The director of the funeral home also helped: "Although there is no legal basis, this is a regulation of the higher authorities and must be implemented."
Recently, a video circulated on social platforms, Ms. Chen, who lives in Yueqing, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, said that her father died on the evening of July 11 and was sent for cremation at 3 pm on July 12, when the ashes were stored in the funeral home.
After returning home, I simply set up two tables of banquets in the restaurant opened by the neighbor next door to thank relatives and friends, and there was no extravagance and waste.
Ms. Chen and her family scheduled to collect the ashes at 6:30 a.m. on July 14, but the village officials informed Ms. Chen that the urn would need to be detained for three hours and would not be available until 9:30 a.m.
Ms. Chen asked the reason, and the reason given by the village cadres was that after the body was cremated, it was not allowed to have dinner at home, even if you put a table and a half table, which is the above regulation.
Because of the funeral at home, Ms. Chen did not argue with the village cadres too much, but what happened later made her even more incomprehensible. After taking care of her father's funeral, Ms. Chen went to the village committee to collect the deposit, but was told by the village cadres that she needed to be fined 5,000 yuan because of the violation of the previous private banquet, and the deposit should be low.
Of course, Ms. Chen did not approve of this kind of indiscriminate punishment in the village, and even distinguished it with the village cadres: If you find any family in the village, it is more grand than their family, and it makes no sense to be fined for such a simple house. The village cadres ignored it, and Ms. Chen naturally felt uncomfortable. So I approached the media and hoped for help.
Subsequently, the reporter interviewed the Yueqing City Street Office, and the director of the Street Office took out a "proposal" to show the reporter, which was about the "four non-exceeding" and "five prohibitions" that citizens need to abide by when handling funerals.
According to the regulations, before the body is transported to the funeral home, it can be set up for a banquet, but it cannot exceed five tables, and after the body is transported to the funeral home, no table can be placed, as for the ashes to be seized and postponed, this is a requirement of the city.
The reporter also interviewed the Yueqing City Funeral Parlor, and a staff member said that they were under the orders of the Funeral Reform Office, and they notified us of various violations in various townships and towns, and then handled them in accordance with the regulations.
He asked whether there was a legal basis for this measure. The staff member said: It is the regulation of the superiors. The implication is that there are no relevant laws, regulations and provisions.
The reporter interviewed the director of the Wenzhou funeral home, and the other party also emphasized that this is the above regulation.
This video also aroused the attention and discussion of many netizens.
Many netizens expressed their incomprehension, and some netizens thought: Is this too lenient, who has no old man who has died, relatives and friends help take care of the funeral, it is impossible to make the family hungry, and not even invite others to eat? This also violates the norms of being a human being.
Some netizens said: The people spend their own money, and they have earned it hard, and they are not corrupt and bribery, so why don't they let it be spent? Such a regulation is divorced from reality and violates the ethics of the program, is it intended to make people disown their relatives?
Personal Opinion:
Ms. Chen's family only set up two tables of wine, and only about 20 people dined, just imagine, if all the relatives of the family were present, each dozens of tables would definitely not be able to get down. They have only two tables in their house, that is, their closest family and friends, and they are obviously very frugal, not extravagant and wasteful.
In the past, weddings and funerals in rural areas paid attention to the setting of flowing water seats, and sometimes the whole village and even the neighboring villages came to eat and drink, and at least 20 tables had to start, which could be called a violation of the regulations.
In rural areas, after the funeral of the elderly, the children prepare some banquets in order to thank relatives and friends, which is a natural thing and a traditional virtue left by the Chinese.
From a legal point of view, there is no legal basis for such a provision, nor is there a reason to serve the public, and according to the current laws and regulations, there is no clear provision that prohibits the setting of a banquet after the cremation of the remains of relatives.
At the same time, it was also found that the village cadres and funeral home staff also had a misunderstanding of the regulations they said, and they were one-size-fits-all.
The premise of the higher-ups formulating this policy was because they were worried that some families would hold banquets repeatedly, that is, before the body was sent to the funeral home and after the burial, it was specifically stipulated that it was not allowed to hold it again after the funeral home was sent to the funeral home.
The key is that Ms. Chen's family only held a banquet once, but the time was after the body was delivered to the funeral home, but the core was that it did not hold two banquets, but only once according to the regulations.
The village cadres stuck to the rules and ignored the reality that Ms. Chen's family only held a banquet once, but they were stuck in the funeral home after the funeral home held the banquet in violation of regulations, don't they know what is going on in their own hearts?
In my opinion, the most critical issue involved in this is the fine, because with a fine of 5,000 yuan, it can be retained by the village collective, and the village committee has an extra income, and they usually have some food and drink expenses, and they also have a source of funds. That's the core issue.
What do you think about this? Feel free to leave a comment.