Sichuan Chengdu Wenjiang District plans to build a crematorium, which has triggered strong backlash from local residents. Just days ago, several thousand citizens gathered outside the Wenjiang District government building in Chengdu to protest, and eventually the authorities were forced to announce the cancellation of the project.
On December 16, a self-media account “Yesterday” that focuses on mainland China group events posted that residents had previously organized through social media to oppose the construction of a crematorium in Jinma Town, Wenjiang District. Residents expressed concerns that the chosen site for the project was only a few hundred meters away from residential areas and close to the main water source of Chengdu, which would seriously affect the living environment and health of over a hundred thousand residents.
Aside from launching joint protest activities, some residential communities also held gatherings. By last Sunday (December 15), the scale of protests escalated suddenly, with thousands of protesters gathering outside the district government building, chanting slogans and demanding the immediate cessation of the project. Videos from the scene showed the protest scene to be quite spectacular.
However, according to local residents, despite the authorities publicly announcing the cancellation of the project, construction at the project site was still ongoing as of the morning of the 16th, leading to further doubts among residents about the sincerity of the government.
Some have said, “It has not been stopped, construction continues.” “This is just a temporary measure. They will definitely proceed with the project.” “Strongly protest against the construction of the crematorium, especially a 6-story one in Jinma, residents must stand firm.” “Firmly oppose the crematorium being built in densely populated residential areas.” “Stand firm, resist until the end.”
On the evening of December 14, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Wenjiang District in Chengdu issued a notice stating that recently, some people had expressed concerns about the proposed construction of public welfare funeral facilities in Wenjiang District through online platforms. Currently, the project is in the public bidding and announcement period. After comprehensive consideration, the decision was made to halt implementation and reevaluate the project site selection.
In the early hours of December 15, the WeChat public account “Net Wenjiang” from mainland China released another post stating that recently, some internet users had posted online claiming that “Wenjiang District will build a crematorium,” sparking discussions among some netizens. The news was deemed as “false information,” according to the reply from the Civil Affairs Bureau of Wenjiang District, stating that “there is no plan to build a crematorium in Wenjiang District; the proposed project is a public welfare cemetery without cremation facilities, and the project has been stopped.”
Local residents commented, “If the ordinary people remain silent, will this cemetery be built?” “News is too fast. Something that happened 4 hours ago has already been ‘clarified’.”
“We strongly oppose it because we love Jinma. We don’t want our living space to become a public cemetery in Jinma, and we certainly don’t want to become the guardians of Jinma. Thus, we must fight for our rights.”
“I am a resident of Jinma, I am nearby, there are over a hundred thousand residents in Jinma, we don’t want the living and the dead to share the same space.”
“The integrated funeral project in Wenjiang and the expansion of five projects in Dalang have unreasonable locations, being close to the densely populated area of Jinma with over a hundred thousand residents, just 500 meters away from surrounding communities, with a pharmaceutical factory and a food processing plant across the street.”
“It’s a water source protection area, 60 meters away from Min River, with a water treatment plant 3 kilometers downstream, affecting the drinking water security of 1.4 million people in Wenjiang District and Shuangliu District. A crematorium cannot be built there.”
Source: NTD