Death Customs

3 Mar 2013

They gathered in the field where the balloon crashed near the village of Hager El Dibie, west of Luxor, to perform mourning rituals. Accompanied by Hong Kong officials, the families - who had made...

Coming clean on growing number of lonely deaths in South Korea

6 Feb 2013

In a country where the unravelling of Confucian traditions means that many elderly people are no longer cared for by family, more South Koreans are dying in solitude, after either taking their own...

Taoist hall asks court to declare it religious, to house human ashes

9 Dec 2012

A Taoist hall asked a court to declare it a religious institute, so it could serve as a repository for human ashes.

Some potential urn niche sites not yet confirmed

11 Nov 2012

Some of the 24 potential columbarium sites identified by the government at least 18 months ago had yet to be confirmed, the health minister admitted yesterday.

Further planning and...

Mortician Frank Malabed is Philippines' embalmer to the famous

8 Nov 2012

When dictator Ferdinand Marcos and a host of other famous Philippine figures met their maker, they also met Frank Malabed.

Opinion

Wang Xiangwei

Super ministries may not be the right answer for mainland China

Alex Lo

Church developers remain unbowed by government rules

George Chen

A house is not a home until it becomes affordable

Architects unveil plans for floating columbarium

A local architecture firm has come up with an ingenious way to alleviate the growing shortage of burial space - by turning a ship into a floating columbarium.

Bread Studio has developed the...

2 comments

Town planners to impose controls on Po Toi Island developments

The Town Planning Board upheld its decision to impose controls on any development on Po Toi Island yesterday, but now faces a legal challenge from developers who are building a memorial garden...

Computer ballot for niches at new Wo Hop Shek columbarium

The completion of a new HK$629.5 million public columbarium in Wo Hop Shek may help reduce waiting times of up to five years for a public urn niche, but the 20,800 applicants already on the...

Activist cremated 'without consent'

Former Tiananmen dissident Li Wangyang's body was cremated yesterday, three days after his suspicious death in hospital, stoking criticism of the authorities in Shaoyang, Hunan province.

Alex Randall

English avant-garde lighting artist Alex Randall creates striking designs that feature stuffed wild animals.

'Alternative' ash burials start to gain ground

Hongkongers are increasingly opting for their ashes to be scattered in a 'garden of remembrance' as opposed to costlier, traditional burial arrangements such as the use of niches, says a funeral...