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Metropolis authorities introduced earlier that hearses might resume going to the mainland by way of Sha Tau Kok – the one land checkpoint for our bodies – from February 6, however nothing moved.
Funeral business representatives advised the Submit that mainland authorities had not given the inexperienced mild but.
The Safety Bureau stated there have been questions of safety on the management level, which was attributable to be redeveloped, and the federal government was liaising with mainland authorities to resolve the scenario.
For Chan, the fourth of six youngsters, the lengthy wait has added to the household’s grief.
His 89-year-old mom died of pneumonia in late January. His father, 97, died two weeks in the past after choking on his meals.
His mom’s physique continues to be on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital mortuary, whereas his father’s physique is at Fu Shan public mortuary.
Though the household has been requested to take the our bodies and liberate mortuary area, he stated: “As their youngsters, it’s our accountability to fulfil their final needs, and we are going to wait till the authorities decide.”
Flying the our bodies to the mainland was an possibility, however that might price as much as HK$200,000 they usually must be closely embalmed, which Chan believed was not what his mother and father needed.
“They wished to return to nature, not be preserved by chemical substances,” he stated.
The one place offering short-term storage service for coffins and urns within the metropolis, the historic Tung Wah Coffin House in Sandy Bay, is full.
The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals stated 185 coffins have been being stored there, with 19 on a ready listing, and a few households have been getting ready for funerals on the mainland as quickly because the border reopened.
There are only some cemeteries for abroad Chinese language on the mainland, and the one at Mirs Bay, about 20km (12.4 miles) from Sha Tau Kok, was the preferred with Hongkongers.
An worker of Kong Sum Funding Firm, the cemetery’s native agent, stated greater than 200 our bodies have been awaiting burial and it will take at the very least three months to clear the backlog as there have been solely three hearses.
“We tried to go to the Sha Tau Kok management level on February 6, however we have been advised that the mainland authorities weren’t prepared for hearses,” she stated.
“We tried to liaise with Hong Kong and mainland customs, the Shenzhen port workplace, and even the mainland’s liaison workplace in Hong Kong, however none knew when our bodies can be accepted into the mainland or the explanations for the delay.”
Hearses have been stopped from crossing the border in late January 2022, when Hong Kong was hit by its fifth wave of Covid-19 infections. At one level, pandemic restrictions stored all cross-border drivers stranded on the border checkpoints.
Kwok Hoi-pong, chairman of the Funeral Enterprise Affiliation in Hong Kong, blamed the present delay on the mainland finish, not Hong Kong.
“Some households gave up ready and selected to cremate the useless in Hong Kong,” he stated. “Some our bodies have been stored on the coffin dwelling for 3 years.”
He stated that earlier than the border was shut in January final 12 months, solely two or three coffins might be taken throughout every day, and hearses weren’t allowed to go to cemeteries farther away.
That created the backlog. He stated the coffin dwelling had by no means been full till not too long ago.
Stanley Tandon Lal Chaing, chairman of the Lok Ma Chau-Hong Kong Freight Affiliation, stated his late brother-in-law’s final needs couldn’t be carried out due to the border restrictions.
“He purchased a plot at Mirs Bay a few years in the past, wishing to be buried subsequent to his father, however when he died in late 2021, we needed to cremate his physique as a result of we had no thought how lengthy we must wait,” Lai stated.
“However we’re conserving his stays and can take him dwelling in a coffin to bury as soon as the border reopens.”
He stated he had heard that mainland authorities have been contemplating permitting hearses to make use of the Heung Yuen Wai port.
“Heung Yuen Wai port was meant to exchange Sha Tau Kok sooner or later,” he stated. “We don’t thoughts utilizing the brand new port, so long as the useless can cross the border, though Sha Tau Kok is extra handy.
Transport sector lawmaker Frankie Yick Chi-ming stated he reached out to Beijing’s liaison workplace in Hong Kong and high metropolis officers after some business representatives requested him for assist.
He anticipated the matter to be resolved quickly, and stated hearses have been prone to be allowed to make use of one other checkpoint.
The Submit has reached out to mainland customs and the Shenzhen port workplace for remark.
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