Elderly Chinese paid for destroying their own coffins to be burned as fuel
Compensation of US$160 offered by local authorities, which say cremation is more eco-friendly and burning coffin wood is a useful power source
Hundreds of elderly villagers in southeast China have agreed to smash their own coffins to be burned to generate power as part of a government initiative, according to news sites.
They were paid compensation for destroying their coffins and agreeing to be cremated rather than buried in a government push for eco-friendly funeral practices, reported Jiangnan City Daily.
Within five days, about 400 villagers in Shangrao county in Jiangxi province volunteered to use excavators to smash their own coffins under the watch of local officials last Sunday, it stated.
The newspaper site reported that 400 caskets were crushed, while the Global Times reported 500.
The residents were each given 1,000 yuan (US$159) in compensation for volunteering their coffin, which can cost up to 5,000 yuan (US$796) to make, according to the Global Times. Some, however, were said to have been forced to part with their burial caskets, it stated.
As they did so, a sign was displayed that read “Chinese dream”.