Superstitious beliefs are an extremely powerful force in China, and this has led to tragic consequences in east China’s Anhui province this month.

As part of a national campaign, Anqing City government ruled that from June, all dead bodies must be cremated as opposed to buried in the ground, which is costly, and takes up more land.

Upon hearing this, two elderly people aged 97 and 81 committed suicide in order to die before the new law comes into effect. Although many families nowadays will choose cremation, according to traditional Chinese customs, your body must be buried intact in order to move peacefully into the afterlife.

Both of the elderly residents were said to have been in relatively good health for their ages. Hopefully there won’t be any more tragedies of this nature in the near future.

Source: Shanghai Daily

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Keywords: Fear of Cremation Causes Suicide among the Elderly