Apec preparations: China bans burning clothes of dead

BEIJING—For about three days in the coming week, President Aquino will be living in a relatively smog-free city.

And that includes blue skies.

Beijing authorities have banned people from burning the clothes of dead relatives—a traditional funerary rite to ensure they can dress in the afterlife—as an antipollution measure for an international summit, state-run media said on Tuesday.

The move comes days ahead of the opening of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum, when Chinese President Xi Jinping will host leaders from the United States, Russia and Japan among others.

President Aquino is among the Apec leaders attending the forum. He is expected to visit Beijing from Nov. 9 to 11, according to his latest available schedule.

Authorities in the notoriously smog-ridden capital have imposed tight limits on car use, ordered factories to close, and are giving public sector employees a six-day holiday, with some neighboring areas also following suit with restrictions.

A notice at Beijing’s sprawling Babaoshan cemetery states that “the incineration of the clothing of the deceased will be suspended” from Nov. 1 to 15 due to the Apec meetings, according to Beijing News.

“We kindly ask your understanding for any inconvenience this may cause,” the notice reads.

The burning of clothing to make it available to the deceased—along with paper representations of other goods—is part of the rituals of death in much of China.

It is not the first time that small-scale smoke sources have been targeted in the country’s battles against pollution, with street-side barbecue stands sometimes blamed.

China’s heavy air pollution is primarily caused by the enormous use of coal to generate electricity to power a booming economy, and by more vehicles on the roads.

Last month, the toxic smog made international headlines as thousands of runners battled a thick white haze at the Beijing Marathon, with some athletes donning masks as the pollution soared to 16 times the World Health Organization’s recommended maximum.

Organizers had rejected calls to postpone the race, saying it would have been “very difficult” as a significant portion of the athletes came from places outside Beijing.

Ahead of the Apec conference, however, authorities have sought to clear the skies, which have been clear in recent days.

Hebei province, which borders Beijing, will suspend production at more than 2,000 companies and halt work at nearly 2,500 construction sites, according to the state-run China Daily newspaper.

“Blue skies ready to greet Apec,” read a front-page headline in Tuesday’s paper.–Reports from Christian Esguerra and AFP