WANG TINGYU points sadly towards the space above her bed where her coffin used to lie. It was one of a pair she and her husband bought 20 years ago, when the couple entered their 60s. After he died, hers remained stored in the eaves of their sooty cottage-ready for the day her own body would be buried on a nearby hillside. But a few months ago officials entered the home of the 81-year-old and took the casket away. She says the 1,000 yuan ($145) they gave her in compensation was one-half to one-third of its value.
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