Beijing: China on Sunday banned serving of rare delicacies made from shark fins, bird nests and wild animal products at official reception dinners as part of wildlife conservation efforts.
A document outlining new regulations, jointly issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Central Cabinet is to regulate the use of public funding on receptions by local authorities to receive visiting party or governmental officials.
Shark fins, bird nests and products of rare wild animals are popular menu items at luxury dinners in China. Already, famous basketball player Yao Ming is conducting a major awareness campaign against shark fin soup, regarded as most famous in China, portraying the brutality inflicted on sharks, which were thrown back into the sea after their fins were sliced, causing very painful death.
The new regulation said cigarettes and up-market liquors are not allowed to be served at official dinners. Moreover, officials below provincial level should not live in suite rooms on their business trips, it said.
Local hosts are also banned from giving cash, negotiable securities, souvenirs or local products as gifts for the officials. According to the document, the new rules are to promote frugality, oppose extravagance and enhance the anti-corruption efforts among party and governmental authorities.
The campaign is being conducted as part of crackdown on corruption initiated by President Xi Jinping after he took power this year.
