China has launched a crackdown on so-called funeral strippers, offering people cash rewards for information on “obscene performances”.
The practice has long been criticised by the authorities, who first began clamping down on “obscene” performances in 2006 and in 2015 banned them entirely.
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Despite numerous attempts to stamp out the practice, it has remained a regular feature of many rural funerals. The Global Times describes strippers as a “modern part” of many rural events.
One reason may be that “some communities in rural China reportedly believe that bigger attendances at funerals help to honour the dead and bring them good fortune”, while others say erotic shows pay tribute to fertility, says The Daily Telegraph.
But now it appears the authorities have tried a more capitalist approach, setting up telephone hotlines in 19 cities across four provinces that offer people cash incentives for information on “funeral misdeeds”.
Chinese state media has often chosen to blame the shows on the West, as Chinese families have become increasing decadent and materialistic.
Xinhua news agency said in 2015 that exotic performances highlight “the trappings of modern life in China, whereby vanity and snobbery prevail over traditions”.