China bans shark fin soup at official banquets
China has banned dishes containing delicacies like shark fin and and bird’s nest from official banquets as part of a government crackdown on official extravagance.
Chinese authorities published new regulations that “explicitly ruled out dishes containing shark fins, bird nests and wild animal products in official reception dinners,” the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
Xinhua also said that cigarettes and up-market liquors are not allowed to be served at official dinners and officials below provincial level should not stay in hotel suites on business trips.
The new rules aim to “regulate the use of public funding on receptions,” Xinhua added.
President Xi Jinping has made tackling official corruption a priority since taking power earlier this year.
In September, the government announced that officials would not be able to use public money to send mooncakes as gifts – a traditional part of China’s Mid Autumn Festival celebrations.
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Source: www.edition.cnn.com/ASIA
