Editorial | Cut red tape to ease the pain of Hong Kong’s bereaved
Popular Hong Kong film and report by ombudsman are timely reminders for better ways to deal with formalities arising from deaths
The Last Dance, a Hong Kong film set around the funeral trade and the traditional rituals for the departed, has raked in more than HK$122 million (US$15.7 million) to become the highest-grossing local production. Resonating just as widely across the community is a public watchdog’s report into government bureaucracy and the handling of the dead.
Both the film and the report address issues relating to the bereaved that sadly do not get the attention they deserve in society.
Credit goes to Ombudsman Jack Chan Jick-chi for flagging the red tape involved in the disposal of bodies. Noting that procedures often involve different public authorities, including the Hospital Authority, Department of Health, Immigration Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the watchdog said the process risked adding to the already heavy emotional burden.
The frustration of navigating a thicket of government websites to find the right channels and forms can only be imagined. Making it even worse is the archaic requirement for applicants to personally visit the offices of individual departments to complete the formalities.
That is why some families hire a funeral agent to deal with protocols, which is costly and may be open to abuse.
