Restaurant serves dish of controversy

Updated: 2011-12-31 16:32

(Xinhua)

  Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

BEIJING - A Chinese restaurant owner has caused a stir after he vowed to remove shark fins from the menu, while at the same time announcing he would serve his remaining stock free.

Shangguan Junle, chairman of Haomen Jipin Restaurants in north Shanxi province, wrote on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo this week that he decided to stop serving shark fins from the beginning of 2012 to "protect sharks and the environment."

Yet the 34-year old entrepreneur went on to explain that he would not be wasteful and throw out his remaining stock, but rather provide shark fin dishes for free at all restaurant outlets at 10:00 am January 3.

His restaurants see an annual turnover of 50 million yuan ($7,925,000) generated from shark fin dishes, accounting for one-third of the company's total turnover, Shangguan said.

The company has outlets in the provincial capital of Taiyuan and three other cities in Shanxi, a province known for its nouveau riche, thanks to its rich coal production.

The businessman's vow of "no more shark fins" followed by giveaways of it was regarded as contradictory, after his post attracted both praise for "benevolence," and criticism for being "hypocrisy" from Internet users.

Some viewed it admirably, classifying Shangguan as a role model, but others found him insincere and interpreted it as a promotional stunt.

Wang Kai, an anchorman with the China Central Television (CCTV), commented that it would be better if Shangguan sold the stock and donated the proceeds to environmental organizations.

Shangguan said he anticipated that his decision would be dubbed as a shallow promotion, but that doesn't matter as long as it helps end the shark-fin market.

Shark fin soup, celebrated in China, is usually served at important banquets, such as wedding receptions. As Chinese people have grown richer, the soup, once a symbol of nobility and luxury, has become common in restaurants.

And the controversy is not only in China. Environmental protection organizations around the world say the market for shark fin has caused the decline of the species, which, atop of the ocean food chain, are critical to ecosystem stability.

According to WildAid, a wild animal protection organization, up to 73 million sharks are killed every year. As a result, about one-third of the open-ocean shark species are threatened with extinction, with certain species experiencing a 99-percent-population decline.

Sharks are often still alive when their fins are hacked off. The sharks, whose meat is not considered as valuable as their fins, are thrown back into water to drown or bleed to death.

The French documentary "Oceans" was released in China in August.

The documentary, directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud, has ?caused tremendous reaction around the world. Exposing human cruelty and the plight of sharks, it sparked enthusiasm for environmentalism and has increased condemnations of shark finning.

Shangguan said he was shocked and moved by the documentary. "It drove me to make the decision," he said.

More and more people in China have begun recognizing the harm of shark finning and are refusing to eat it.

In March, a group of lawmakers proposed that the country's top legislature ban the trade of shark fins. Ding Liguo, a billionaire and executive chairman of Delong Holdings Limited, was among them.

China is now the biggest market of shark fin, consuming 95 percent of the world's total with Taiwan, Hong Kong included, said Ding, noting that only legislation can stop shark-fin trading and reduce the killings of sharks.

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, parent company of The Peninsula Hotels, recently said that it will stop serving shark fins as of January 1 at all of its eight hotels globally. Some other companies said they would follow.

Former NBA icon Yao Ming also joined the campaign to protect sharks. "Sharks are friends of human beings. They are not our food," Yao said.

"When the buying stops, the killing can too," he said in a video ad.

Shangguan said his decision was a response to Yao's appeal. Although some of his family members and friends don't understand, he intends to uphold his vow.

主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产做国产爱免费视频| 女人扒开双腿让男人桶| 亚洲伊人久久大香线蕉AV| 真实处破疼哭视频免费看| 日韩精品高清自在线| 亚洲精品狼友在线播放| 精品人妻中文无码AV在线| 国产乱女乱子视频在线播放| 国产精品三级视频| 国产精品国色综合久久| 99re热视频| 天天摸天天摸色综合舒服网| 一级黄色毛片播放| 打开腿吃你的下面的水视频 | 国语自产精品视频在线看| 一区二区三区无码高清视频| 成人欧美精品大91在线| 久久91精品国产91| 日本动漫黄观看免费网站| 久久精品人人做人人爽| 最近日本免费观看直播| 动漫乱理伦片在线观看| 草莓污视频在线观看午夜社区| 国产成人8X视频网站入口| 人与禽交免费网站视频| 国产精品区一区二区三| 6一10周岁毛片在线| 国内精品久久久久影院日本| Channel| 天天色天天综合| sihu永久在线播放地址| 少妇高潮无套内谢麻豆传| 中字幕视频在线永久在线| 把女人的嗷嗷嗷叫视频软件| 久久99久久99精品免观看| 日本最新免费不卡二区在线| 久久精品国内一区二区三区| 熟妇人妻无码XXX视频| 免费女人18毛片a级毛片视频| 精品久久久久久亚洲精品| 午夜在线亚洲男人午在线|