Lunar New Year is one of the most important traditional festivals for Chinese, and people look forward to family reunions, celebrations and new beginnings at this time. However, in Guangshui City, Suizhou, Hubei Province, a cremation propaganda text message sent at 12 o'clock in the middle of the night brought great dissatisfaction to the villagers. The text message, written by the local funeral reform office**, informed villagers that from March 20, 2024, the remains of all urban and rural residents in the administrative area of Guangshui City must be cremated. Such a message not only made the villagers feel uneasy and dissatisfied in terms of the timing of the sending, but also triggered their strong resistance.
The cremation propaganda message was sent at around 12 midnight, which not only surprised the villagers, but also gave them a creepy feeling. Many villagers have said that receiving such a message in the middle of the night makes people doubt the authenticity of the text message, and some even think it is a prank. In order to vent their dissatisfaction, some villagers directly replied to text messages to express their emotions and dissatisfaction. These replies are both a vent and a response to the sender of the text message.
The Funeral Reform Office responded that when signing the contract with the mobile communications company, there was no specific time limit on the time period for the text message to be sent, and it did not expect the text message to be scheduled to be sent in the middle of the night. Although the original plan was to continue sending similar text messages after the 15th day of the first lunar month, in view of the dissatisfaction and repercussions caused by the incident, they decided not to send any similar text messages throughout the lunar month, and apologized for not fully taking into account the feelings of the villagers. However, such a response did not completely quell the discontent of the villagers.
This ** propaganda text message incident has aroused public concern and controversy over the issue of funeral reform. On the one hand, the funeral reform is for the rational use of land resources and the protection of the environment, which can be regarded as in line with the needs of the development of the times and social progress. On the other hand, funeral reform involves people's deep cultural beliefs and traditional practices, so it must be approached with caution.
Regarding the controversy over burial and cremation, netizens have different opinions. Some people believe that burials in hilly areas do not take up arable land and that cremation reduces air pollution. They advocate that the cremation policy should not be implemented in a one-size-fits-all manner, but should be based on regional conditions and people's wishes.
However, there are also those who are skeptical of such propaganda activities, believing that such information is related to people's lifelong careers and is not a free thing. They believe that propaganda should be more meaningful than just sending a simple text message. In addition to this, there have been criticisms of such poor timing of the campaign, and the discomfort and disgusting feeling of sending such messages late at night.
We should not simply adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to funeral reform, but should adopt flexible measures according to the characteristics of the region and the degree of acceptance by the people. **The management of public sentiment needs to be fully considered when implementing policies, including appropriate publicity methods and timing, as well as transparent interpretation of policy content and response to public concerns. Funeral reform is a sensitive and complex issue, which requires full communication with the public to enhance the public acceptance of the policy.
In conclusion, the controversy over cremation promotional text messages reminds us that when implementing any public policy, the concept of ** and the needs of the people need to be taken into account at the same time. Only through effective communication and negotiation can the best solution be found and the support and understanding of the public can be gained. Funeral reform is an issue related to people's lives and cultural customs, and it requires deep thinking and prudent decision-making to ensure that the implementation process runs smoothly and minimizes the impact and discomfort on the people.