Tree burial service launched
The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) will roll out a free eco-burial service called “tree burial” from September 1, according to a press release. IACM is developing a park inside a municipal cemetery in Taipa that will offer 440 free tree burial services to local residents in the first lot.
As a new type of green burial, tree burial, initiated by the bureau, refers to the burying of ashes under a tree after cremation. The idea is that this process returns the dead to nature in a more environmentally friendly way than other types of burial, Liang Guanfeng, an official from the local civil affairs department told Xinhua by telephone.
Macau, one of the world’s most densely populated regions, is tight for space with an increasing population, said Liang. He added that the tree burial service is a key innovation driving Macau’s burial reform, as the government tries to solve the problem of the region’s increasingly scarce land resources.
According to Liang, 70 percent of local residents choose cremation, as opposed to tomb burial where the price of private graveyards ranges from 40,000 to millions of patacas, depending on the area. People are interested in the green funerals, and dozens of citizens have registered in advance for tree burials for their late relatives.
The IACM expects that tree burials will provide an effective means for ensuring the protection of the environment and land resources. MDT/Xinhua
Stamps marking V-Day 70th anniversary issued
Macau will issue commemorative stamps marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japanese aggression today, Macau Post said at press briefing yesterday.
A set of stamps consists of two stamps with a face value of MOP2 and MOP5.50, which vividly showcase the heroic acts of the Chinese people involved in the resistance against the Japanese invaders.
One stamp is named the “July 7th Incident” and depicts a Chinese solider holding and aiming his rifle ahead of him, with a background of the famous Marco Polo Bridge. The other is called “National-wide War of Resistance” — using the Great Wall as a backdrop, the stamp shows a scene of Chinese people fighting against their enemies.
About 4000 copies of first-day covers and 3000 copies of an information brochure will be published, along with 500,000 sets of stamps, commencing today, the head of Macau Post told the press. MDT/Agencies
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I find here with the TREE BURIAL SERVICE launched extreme irony. I have for the past 4 years attempted to obtain the services of both a TREE DOCTOR and CHERRY PICKER – both categories IACM employ, to come and prune trees on the HELLENE GARDEN estate. During the course of these 4 years over 3 people in HK have died as a result of falling trees and branches, one of whom was a pregnant woman whose baby was miraculously saved, but she died instantly. The point has been made to IACM many many times that the management company do not handle or do not know where to go to obtain qualified people and/or equipment and that sooner or later a disaster will occur. My role has been one of civic duty insofar as attempting to avert either a fatality or serious permanent disability. The seriousness of which appears to not be on the radar screen of either property management companies OR IACM and yet they see fit to offer a TREE BURIAL SERVICE. Are they not interested in the LIVING and averting a disaster!!
Their answer is that HELLENE GARDENS is a private estate. Cant they outsource labour and equipment to the citizens of Macau who duly pay their taxes and who would expect a government department to be of assistance? I might add the trees have never been pruned over a ten year period.
If some reader can please assist in recommending a company in Macau who offers this service and to whom an approach can be made via a property management company, it would be very much appreciated. Unlike IACM who appear to disavow themselves of any form of civic duty towards the citizens of macau, this matter will not go away and should be rectified as soon as possible.