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BEIJING, March 26 (Xinhua) -- China will curb1 excessively high funeral charges by regulating the industry and reducing or remitting2 fees for low-income groups, the Ministry3 of Civil Affairs (MCA) said Monday.
A pricing standard for basic funeral services, such as transportation and storage of the body, cremation4 and the handling of ashes, will be issued by local governments based on the costs of the services and the subsidies5 funeral-related businesses receive from the government, the ministry said in a written interview with Xinhua.
In the meantime, fees for optional services -- such as body preservation6 and funeral arrangements -- can be decided7 by funeral homes under a proposed government standard.
The government will also cut the public management cost for funeral services providers and promote a "thrifty8 funeral" concept.
A document was issued last week by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the MCA urging detailed9 efforts be made to curb the country's rising funeral charges.
Government efforts to curb high funeral charges come ahead of the Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping10 Day, which falls on April 4 this year. The festival is a centuries-old tradition in China meant to mourn the death of ancestors and loved ones.
Funeral charges often become a hot issue during the festival, as many people complain that the funeral charges are so high that "they cannot afford their deaths."
The ministry ascribed the problem to the low quality of the funeral services and imperfect policies in China, as well as the industry's natural character to be monopolized11 and its particularity.
The ministry will promote a policy of benefiting the people by reducing or remitting basic funeral charges for low-income groups.
So far, a total of 14 provinces, 92 prefectural-level cities and 471 counties have implemented12 the policy with different measures. The ministry said the policy will be expanded to try to cover all low-income groups around the country by the end of this year.
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1 curb | |
n.场外证券市场,场外交易;vt.制止,抑制 | |
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2 remitting | |
v.免除(债务),宽恕( remit的现在分词 );使某事缓和;寄回,传送 | |
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3 ministry | |
n.(政府的)部;牧师 | |
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4 cremation | |
n.火葬,火化 | |
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5 subsidies | |
n.补贴,津贴,补助金( subsidy的名词复数 ) | |
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6 preservation | |
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持 | |
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7 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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8 thrifty | |
adj.节俭的;兴旺的;健壮的 | |
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9 detailed | |
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的 | |
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10 sweeping | |
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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11 monopolized | |
v.垄断( monopolize的过去式和过去分词 );独占;专卖;专营 | |
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12 implemented | |
v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 );执行;贯彻;使生效 | |
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