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Hong Kong Gov't Introduces Controversial Site to Memorialize Deceased

by Amar Toor on June 11, 2010 at 09:00 AM

hong kong memorial site
Bereaved Web surfers in Hong Kong now have a new way to digitally honor their lost loved ones, thanks to www.memorial.gov.hk, a site that lets users pay tribute to deceased friends and family with their own online memorials. Users can custom design dedicatory profile pages for their honorees, and upload photos, videos, and background music to the shrine. Mourners can also choose whether or not to open the page up to the public, or just restrict it to friends and relatives. The service is free, but only those who have buried a loved one with the help of Hong Kong's governmental funeral services can create a page. In essence, the site is like any other social networking site -- minus the social networking part.

What makes Hong Kong's online memorial service even more peculiar, though, is the fact that it wasn't founded by another young techie. As the New York Times explains, it's actually owned and managed by the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. In a statement, the governmental department heralded the site as a means for citizens "to link up with their relatives and friends overseas in paying tribute and expressing condolences to the deceased through a dedicated Web page." Officials were quick to point out, however, that the government did not intend for it "to replace traditional practices of paying tribute to the deceased," which, in Hong Kong, are held sacrosanct.

But the government's disclaimer hasn't stopped some from voicing their displeasure with a site that they liken more to a video game than a proper memorial. Wu Kwok Kin, an owner of a Hong Kong shop that sells funeral wreaths, insists, "There's no need to build a Web site. The government should have put up money to build more public vaults for urns."

We admit that it's impossible for outsiders to fully understand what role tradition plays in a foreign society, but we do understand how something like this could rub some people the wrong way -- even in a place as hyper-connected as Hong Kong. Though, when it comes to experiencing great loss, everyone should be entitled to deal with the pain and sorrow in any way they please -- even if that means disregarding cultural norms in favor of digital trends. [From: New York Times]

Tags: dead, death, deceased, family, funeral, HongKong, memorial, ritual, SocialNetworking, top, Tradition, web

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