AS THIS YEAR'S Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, approaches, cheating in the funeral industry is rampant, according to Xinhua News Agency. Besides the exorbitant service-related items like cinerary caskets and flowers, some local funeral homes even use fake bodies and certificates to rake in huge profits from relatives of the dead. Comments:

To correct the misdeeds of funeral companies requires both professional supervision and reform of the country's funeral industry. For instance, the government is supposed to cover the cost of a basic funeral service, while non-basic items and services should be subject to fair market competition. Only by shaking up the industry can the cost of a funeral service be reasonable.

Zhou Keda, a researcher with the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, April 1