::: HOME > Self-governance Ordinances
|
Enacted and promulgated per Fu-Mi-Zi Order No. 8900780 on Jan. 6, 2000 Amendment promulgated per Fu-Mi-Zi Order No. 9001414 on Jan. 10, 2001 Amendment promulgated per Fu-Mi-Zi Order No. 9100133 on Jan. 3, 2002 Amendment promulgated per Fu-Xing-Fa-Zi Order No. 09500449170 on Aug. 3, 2006 Amendment promulgated per Fu-Xing-Fa-Zi Order No. 0980046073 on Jul. 13, 2009 Amendment and promulgated per Fu-Xing-Fa-Zi Order No. 10000655470 on Sep. 6, 2011
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 The Government of Kinmen County (hereinafter referred to as the County Government) has established these Self-governance Ordinances for the administration of funeral facilities.
Unless otherwise stipulated in laws or central government regulations, the administration of funeral facilities in Kinmen County (hereinafter referred to as the County) shall be conducted in accordance with these Ordinances.
Article 2 The funeral facilities referred to in these Ordinances include the public or private cemeteries, funeral homes, crematoriums, and facilities for the storage of ashes and remains in the county. Article 3 The competent authority of these Ordinances shall be the County Government at the county level and township/town office at the township/town level.
The County Funeral and Burial Administration shall be the administrative agency of county and private funeral facilities; if necessary, public funeral facilities may be placed under private management by delegation and the competent authority shall establish the delegation regulations.
Article 4 Private individuals or organizations may act according to these Regulations and establish private funeral facilities.
The plan for establishment, expansion, additional construction or reconstruction of funeral facilities shall be presented along with the following documents to be evaluated by the administrative agency and forwarded to the competent authority for approval in advance:
1. The location map 2. The cadastral map transcript of the surroundings of the location 3. The layout plan and description 4. The construction and management plans 5. The management approaches and charge criteria 6. The manager’s certificate 7. Proof of land rights or a letter of consent for land use and the land registration transcript 8. The water conservation measures, environmental impact assessment and licenses or proof documents required by law
Chapter II Establishment
Article 5 A cemetery shall have the following facilities
1. Tomb bases 2. Facilities for storage of ashes (remains) 3. A service center 4. Restrooms 5. A drainage system 6. Water supply and lighting equipment 7. Roads inside the cemetery 8. Parking spaces 9. Access roads 10. Cemetery signs 11. Other facilities required by law
Article 6 A funeral parlor shall have the following facilities
1. Freezing chambers 2. Corpse disposal facilities 3. Autopsy rooms 4. Sterilizing equipment 5. Waste water disposal facilities 6. A grief counseling room 7. A bier room 8. Funeral service halls 9. A service center and lounges for family members 10. Restrooms 11. Parking spaces 12. Access roads 13. Other facilities required by law
Article 7 A crematorium shall have the following facilities:
1. Room for retrieval of remains and facilities for reprocessing of ashes after cremation 2. Cremating furnaces 3. Altars 4. A service center and lounges for family members 5. Restrooms 6. Parking spaces 7. Access roads 8. Other facilities required by law
Article 8 Facilities for storage of ashes (remains) shall include the following:
1. Facilities for storage of ashes (remains) 2. Facilities for funeral rituals 3. A service center and lounges for family members 4. Restrooms 5. Parking spaces 6. Access roads 7. Other facilities required by law
Article 9 The facilities specified in Articles 5 to 8 may be shared between funeral facilities adjoining to one another.
Chapter III Use
Article 10 Use of cemeteries, funeral parlors, crematoria, facilities for storage of ashes (remains) shall require application in advance.
The application and related documents shall be filed with the managing office or manager of such facilities to be forwarded to the competent authority for ratification.
Article 11 The managing offices of public cemeteries, funeral parlors, crematoria, facilities for storage of ashes (remains) may impose charges for the use of such facilities. The competent authority shall establish the charge criteria.
The duration of use of the facilities for storage of ashes (remains) stated in the preceding paragraph shall be 25 years and a charge for the use of the facility and a management fee shall be required. Application for extension upon the expiration of the said 25-year period is allowed and the competent authority shall establish the corresponding charge criteria.
Private funeral facilities are required to establish their regulations for the use of facilities, charges and management and present them to be evaluated by the administrative agency and then forwarded to the County Government for approval. The same procedure shall apply when revisions to the said regulations are made.
Article 12 Under one of the following circumstances, concerned parties may apply for use of county cemeteries, funeral parlors, crematoria or facilities for storage of ashes and remains free of charge:
1. The deceased are military personnel or civil servants passing away in the line of duty. 2. The deceased are members of Class1, Class 2 or Class 3 low-income families registered with the county or government-funded members of the Kinmen Home to All. 3. The deceased are temporarily not to be cremated or buried while the prosecutor’s investigation is in progress or have been specially approved by the competent authority.
When the deceased are residents of the county or people who had had household registration for at least 10 years before these Ordinances took effect and are holders of a veteran certificate, the ashes may be stored in the designated zone for military personnel in the County Columbarium free of charge upon application.
Article 13 Use of public and private cemeteries, funeral parlors, crematoria, and columbaria shall require application in advance and submission of related documents to the managing office. If any damage occurs, concerned parties shall restore it to the original condition or make the corresponding compensation.
Chapter IV Administration
Article 14 Burials shall be conducted in cemeteries.
In principle, ashes (remains) shall be stored in facilities for storage fo ashes (remains). Reprocessed ashes may be scattered in the designated area or placed in the tree burial area in a cemetery.
Cemeteries may not allow any corpses without a burial permit to be buried in their premises. Storage or burial of ashes (remains) shall require a cremation permit or disinterment permit, or other proof of permission. Crematoria or mobile crematory facilities may not cremate any corpses without a cremation permit. However, relocation of burial is not included.
Applications for burial or cremation permits shall be filed with the competent authority or an authorized agency along with the death certificate for the deceased.
Article 15 All cemeteries and facilities for storage of ashes (remains) are required to keep burial and storage records permanently and each entry shall include the following information:
1. The number of the tomb base or compartment where the ashes (remains) are stored; 2. The date of burial or storage 3. The name, gender, place of birth, and dates of birth and death of the deceased; 4. The name, National ID No., date of birth, permanent address and contact address of the person responsible for the tomb or storage and his or her relationship with the deceased; 5. Other information specified by the competent authority.
Article 16 After a corpse is buried in the cemetery, the managing office or manager is required to fill out 4 copies of the tomb registration card. The cemetery managing office or manager, the mortuary service, and the person responsible for the tomb shall guard one copy each and the last copy shall be submitted to the competent authority for reference.
Article 17 The person responsible for the tomb is required to destroy the coffin and soiled objects after disinterment and the tomb site shall be returned to the managing office without compensation.
As set forth in Article 73 of the Mortuary Service Administration Act, restoration of private tombs shall require application in writing to the competent authority or an authorized agency for approval in advance.
Article 18 When a coffin is buried in a cemetery, the topside of the coffin shall be at least 70 centimeters below the ground surface. Those containing people dying of contagious diseases shall be buried at least 150 centimeters below the ground surface.
Article 19 Each tomb shall be 3 meters in length and 1.5 meters in width. With couples both having household registration in the county and one of them being over 75 years of ages and the other also over 70 years of age, the spouse or a concerned party may apply for joint burial in Jinshan Public Cemetery and the tomb shall be 3 meters in width.
There is no regulation regarding the material of the tombstone but each tombstone shall be 70 centimeters in height from the ground up and 40 centimeters in width, and a 40 centimeter-wide space shall be maintained between every two tombs to form the walkway.
Article 20 The direction and order of the tomb sites in a public cemetery shall be specified by the managing office according to the chronological order of burials. Other than the applications described in Paragraph 1 of the preceding article, no coffin pits may be reserved. The managers of public cemeteries may not collect any charges from the family of a corpse to be buried or buried or build the tomb on behalf of any family.
The managing regulations for public facilities for storage of ashes (remains) shall be established by the administrative agency.
Article 21 A charge shall be imposed for each tomb base when a corpse is to be buried therein and the remains shall be disinterred 20 years after the burial. For joint burials, the disinterment shall be made when the second burial reaches 20 years.
Disinterred ashes (remains) shall be stored in facilities for storage of ashes (remains). The competent authority or an authorized agency shall notify the person responsible for the tomb or a concerned party 3 months in advance to make the disinterment and relocation of the remains. The person responsible for the tomb or the concerned party shall pay for the expenses. If the person responsible for the tomb or the concerned party fails to comply within the specified period, the competent authority or authorized agency shall conduct the disinterment and relocation and the person responsible for the tomb or the concerned party shall pay for the expenses thereof incurred.
When a person responsible for a tomb or a concerned party voluntarily makes the disinterment and places the ashes (remains) in a facility for storage of ashes (remains), a subsidy shall be provided according to the Kinment County Criteria for Compensation and Aid for Disinterment and Relocation of Remains.
A charge shall be imposed for storage of ashes (remains). If the concerned party fails to pay the charge within the specified period and again does not pay the charge after the competent authority or an authorized agency gives a notification for payment within 3 months, the managing office shall put all such ashes (remains) together, reprocessed them, and dispose of them by tree burial or scattering.
When a tomb needs to be relocated due to public construction projects and the responsible person cannot be located, the agency in charge of the project or the agency requiring the land shall be responsible for burial relocation and the Kinmen County Criteria for Compensation and Aid for Disinterment and Relocation of Remains shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 22 Cemetery managers are require to establish a tomb base plan as well as a tomb base register and record each tomb therein.
Article 23 Corpses of people dying in accidents or unidentified causes may not be moved or transported to a mortuary before the statutory procedure is undertaken.
Article 24 If there is not enough time to obtain the death certificate before a corpse is transported to a mortuary, the family or police are required to establish an affidavit and obtain the death certificate within 48 hours. The personal belongings of the deceased at the time of death may be claimed by the family or police after they have provided the affidavit.
Article 25 Corpses transported to the mortuary may not be coffined or cremated unless the death certificate has been obtained and presented. Identification by the family members is required before a coffin can be sealed. Corpses of people not dying of diseases or suspected as not dying of diseases shall require examination by a prosecutor before they can be coffined and the coffin can be sealed.
The embalming and freezing of the corpses stated in the preceding paragraph shall be conducted by workers appointed by the managing office (the funeral parlor); the cleaning, stitching, cosmetizing and shrouding shall be conducted by a mortuary service or the funeral parlor with the delegation of the family.
Article 26 When a corpse is stored in a freezing chamber, only the family of the deceased and prosecutors and police may pay visits and presentation of identification certificates and registration shall be required upon such visits.
Article 27 Corpses shall be cosmetized, shrouded and coffined in the cosmetizing room and shrouding room, and the coffin shall be sealed. If the coffin needs to be temporarily left in the funeral parlor, it shall be immediately moved to the bier room and the corresponding procedure shall be taken.
Article 28 Temporary storage of coffins shall be for 15 days at the maximum. If the period needs to be extended, the extension shall be no more than one month.
Article 29 Coffins placed in temporary storage must be completely sealed. If corpse fluid is found leaking out, the family must be informed immediately to reinforce the sealing and hold the funeral within 24 hours.
Article 30 Specifications of coffins used in cremation: the planks may not exceed 3 centimeters in thickness, 210 centimeters in length, 65 centimeters in width, and 70 centimeters in height.
Article 31 Remains urns to be stored in facilities for storage of ashes (remains) may not exceed 65 centimeters in height and 40 centimeters in width; ashes urns may not exceed 27 centimeters in height and 30 centimeters in width.
Article 32 Removal of ashes (remains) urns from facilities for ashes (remains) shall require application to the managing office in advance and the storage charge shall be imposed anew when the ashes (remains) urn is put back for storage again.
Chapter V Supplementary Provisions
Article 33 If a burial or disinterment has not been executed as set forth in these Self-Governance Ordinances, the administrative agency may act according to the Administrative Execution Act and conduct the burial or disinterment and the person responsible for the tomb or burial shall pay the expenses thereof incurred.
|