Aussie Lobsters Sneak into China

Australian rock lobsters are being smuggled to China via HK

Australia and China have had long simmering disputes as of late, and this has led to the latter banning numerous food products from Down Under.

First it was wines, along with barley, log timber, copper, coal, and sugar, and recently it's rock lobsters.

But the red crustaceans are making their way to China via Hong Kong thanks to some daring smugglers.

Australian wines are banned from entering China

Back in 2015 when China-Australia Free Trade Agreement was signed, smuggling was brought to a halt and four years later, more than 90 percent of Australia's rock lobsters were exported to China, worth a staggering US$553.7 million a year, according to the Australian agriculture department.

However, the trade ban has resurrected smuggling operations. It's not just lobsters the smugglers are bringing over to China, but also frozen meats, cigarettes and other goods, possibly jewellery, bird's nest, or shark's fin.

In April, Hong Kong imported a whopping 157,978kg of Australian rock lobsters -- about 50 times the amount imported in October, just before the ban took effect.

Lobsters are packed in boxes and kept chilled

But none of the lobsters show up as cargo being re-exported to mainland China, said Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department. Only 5 percent of the lobsters are re-exported to Macau.

"How could people in Hong Kong consume so many lobsters?" asks a local seafood trader. "Of course they must have ended up on the mainland."

Mainland e-commerce sites like Xianyu and Taobao have suppliers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou selling rock lobsters for 300 yuan to 1,000 yuan (US$45-US$155) per kilogram.

How they get to China is, the lobsters are chilled -- not frozen -- to keep them alive and the cold temperatures put them to sleep. After an eight-hour flight from Perth to Hong Kong, and cleared customs, the crustaceans are put in water tanks for two or three days to freshen them up and then repacked again in boxes to make the illicit journey.

The lobsters end up on dining tables in China

Some are hidden in fishermens' boats together with their usual haul to get to the other side a few kilometres away, while others are taken by speedboat by smugglers. It's crucial to get the lobsters transported as quickly as possible because no one wants a dead lobster on arrival...

Caught Red-Handed

Consumption of shark fin soup has plunged 70 percent in Hong Kong

While a number of restaurants and hotels claim they are not serving shark fin in Hong Kong, a few of them still do discreetly.

It's not printed on the menu, but if you order in advance, the dish prized for its price could be arranged.

But now Maxim's, one of the city's largest restaurant chains has been caught selling shark fin in its under-the-counter menus called "The Premium" when it had removed it from its menus last year.

The trade in shark fin is still going strong in the city

Wildlife groups exposed what Maxim's was doing, which the media reported, and now the restaurant group has announced that it will stop serving shark fin from January 1, 2020.

In a statement it said: "Until that point, shark fin dishes will only be provided upon request and to fulfill advance booking commitments," the statement said.

They have bookings for shark fin up until December 31, 2019?

Will there even be enough shark fin until then?

The company's statement said Maxim's had taken steps to reduce the availability of shark fin since 2010 and that there had been a 70 percent fall in consumption of shark fin in its outlets over the past seven years.

It added: "We are committed to balancing our ever-evolving customers' needs and reducing the impact of our business on the environment."

Wildlife groups want to end shark fin consumption

If there has been a 70 percent drop in consumption then why not just drop shark fin altogether then? And why wait until 2020? why not now, which is what the wildlife groups are asking.

They are also hoping other  restaurant groups like Paramount Catering Group, Lei Garden Restaurant Group, and Fulum Group Limited will follow Maxim's lead and stop serving shark fin too.

Tracy Tsang, manager of WWF-Hong Kong's Footprint program says Hong Kong accounts for 40 percent of the global shark fin trade, though there have been no prosecutions for illegally sourced or traded shark fin products between 2014 and 2017 despite 23 seizures of fins. 

If consumption has completely plunged in Hong Kong, how come the city makes up 40 percent of the world shark fin trade? Sounds like it's still a booming trade to send shark fin up north...

Killing the Shark Fin Trade

Shark fin soup is a delicacy that will be even harder to find in Hong Kong

Finally!

Finally Cathay Pacific and Dragon Air have banned shark fin shipments on their airlines with immediate effect.

This comes after years of activists shaming the airlines to stop carrying them, most recently a few weeks ago with the conservationists dressed up as sharks and hanging around the Cathay check-in area.

Cathay Pacific caved to pressure by finally banning shark fin

They did this after Cathay claimed it would not impose an outright ban, but instead set up a panel of experts to decide on a case-by-case basis whether the shipments were from a sustainable source.

How can one find sustainable sharks? Farming them just for their fins seems even more inhumane.

And how can you decide on a case-by-case basis? The proposal just sounded completely daft. Sitting on the fence just gave the wrong image for Cathay.

Meanwhile the pressure was raised a notch when HK Express became the first local airline to ban shark fin shipments last month which was a bold move that won lots of praise from the public.

Three dozen other airlines, including British Airways, American Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Emirates, have also banned carrying shark fin on their shipments, making it harder for those in the business to carry on their trade in Hong Kong.

Hundreds of fins found drying on a rooftop in Hong Kong

According to government statistics, shark fin imports to Hong Kong fell by 42 percent between 2010 and 2015 to 5,717 tonnes. In the same period there was also a plunge of 72 percent drop in imports by air to 450 tonnes.

Thanks to massive public awareness campaigns, many Hong Kong diners shun eating shark fin soup, though many high end restaurants still have it listed discreetly on the menu, or it's an off-the-menu item.

If anyone orders it in Hong Kong, it's usually mainlanders who don't seem to have any environmental concerns about eating the fin of an animal.

But now even these customers are few and far between with Xi Jinping's ongoing corruption crackdown, leading to a slowing down of the economy both in China and Hong Kong.

Shops in Sheung Wan selling shark fin will disappear

And now with even fewer transport options for importers and exporters to trade in shark fin in the city, the number of these shops in Sheung Wan will disappear eventually. This will probably drive up the price of shark fin, and will people still want to pay that much to eat it?

Some purists argue that shark fin soup should still be on the menu to keep the culinary tradition alive. But food is an ever-evolving culture, and it's time to let shark fin go.

While eating it might increase your intake of cartilage, it'll definitely raise the level of mercury in your body.

And is that worth it?

Going Under Cover

A La Perla boutique in Beijing selling lingerie that have become hot in  China

What do basements and lingerie have in common?

They are the new must-haves in China's "new normal".

With Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive continuing with no end in sight, people are spending their dollars literally underground -- as inconspicuously as possible.

The word these days is that rich businessmen and officials are digging basements in their homes, or if they already have one, to renovate it to become their new playroom or dining area to host guests.

An illegal basement caused neighbouring homes to collapse

That's because there's a new campaign encouraging regular folk to take pictures of those who seem to be dining beyond their means in the hopes of identifying and tracking them down. But with a basement, the uber rich can still have their abalone and shark's fin without prying eyes condemning them for their lavish tastes.

Come to think of it, former Hong Kong chief executive contender Henry Tang Ying-yen was probably onto something when he -- oops we mean his wife -- designed a massive basement under their Kowloon Tong home to include a wine-tasting room, cinema, changing room and a gym...

That led to the beginning of the end of Tang's chances to become Hong Kong's top dog. He can comiserate with a Chinese businessman and city legislator in Beijing who got into trouble late last month when he was building an illegal basement 18 metres deep that caused his neighbours' houses to collapse.

Henry Tang and his wife Lisa Kuo faced scrutiny

Major boo-boo.

Not only did the construction workers not have a permit, but also no project supervisor or even architectural plans. The neighbours are now homeless.

Meanwhile the anti-corruption campaign has also resulted in consumers shunning luxury brand outerwear and instead focusing on what they're wearing underneath.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting strong sales for $300 bras and other underwear. Previously people would not shell out for items others would not be able to see, but now lingerie is a hot commodity. High-end brand La Perla saw a 42 percent jump in sales last year in its stores in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and recently the brand opened a shop for men selling $200 silk boxers and $3,000 silk robes.

Expensive lingerie is the new bling...

Young women who have worked for a few years don't mind splashing out for expensive underwear -- perhaps finding it sexy to wear something luxurious underneath that no one else knows about?

Looks like everyone's going underground or underneath to hide their wealth -- above board or ill-gotten.

Perhaps we'll soon be seeing bras studded with diamonds, or boxers in gold thread soon?

Further Clamping Down on Official Privileges

Alas Chinese officials won't be able to dine like this anymore in private clubs

Back in late 2012 when Xi Jinping was chomping at the bit to become president of the most populous nation in the world, he vowed to crack down on "tigers" and "flies" in a bid to crackdown on corruption.

When I went to Shanghai in March 2013, a representative of a five-star hotel there complained to me how the banqueting business was severely affected by Xi's campaign. Originally the hotel had hoped a good part of its revenues would come from government officials dining there, but that changed overnight when Xi's crackdown began.

Everyone was hoping it was a temporary measure, but in the meantime, the hotel in Pudong began heavily promoting its services in being able to hold wedding banquets and 100-day old baby and children's birthday parties to have customers occupy tables.

However, Xi's campaign did not let up.

Meanwhile officials apparently took their lavish dining habits underground into private clubs and residences so they could still enjoy some of the good life.

But apparently the government has caught onto this trick and issued a circular earlier this week stating officials will face "severe punishment" for "entering members-only clubs as well as catering, entertainment, beauty and fitness venues that are closed to the general public but open only to a handful of people."

The circular added officials must promise not to accept and hold memberships in similar businesses.

Perhaps officials will join the laobaixing in their workouts

The notice said many clubs are illegally established and operated, infringe on public interests, and are hotbeds of corruption. It also added the illicit leasing of historical buildings or parks must end and a long-term supervision mechanism must be established.

This latest development in the crackdown on officials' lavish spending of public funds follows other measures, including banning flower arrangements in meeting rooms, expensive liquor, eating shark's fin and luxury gifts.

So now where are officials going to eat? Looks like they are going to have to be like everyone else and have their meals in the main dining area, or are private rooms in restaurants forbidden?

It also seems like officials won't be able to join gyms and work out. They'll now have to join the masses in using those outdoor contraptions in public parks to exercise...

Perhaps it's a good thing -- they'll have to mingle more with commoners and really empathize with them!

Dropping Demand

There's a serious drop in demand for shark's fin from Hong Kong to China

Shark fin isn't as popular these days thanks to public campaigns and WWF-Hong Kong says the trade in shark fins from Hong Kong to the mainland has dropped by almost 90 percent. Overall imports fell by 35 percent, compared with 2012.

Part of it is due to China's crackdown on corruption and luxury spending by officials and also environmentalists persuading people to stop eating the delicacy, and shaming commercial airlines that carry shark fin cargo.

The mainland was previously Hong Kong's largest re-export market, but now it's down to fourth place, replaced by Vietnam for the first time since 2010. Who knew Vietnam had a big market for shark's fin? Or is it an indirect way to get the shark fins to China?

In any event, Tracy Tsang Chui-chi, WWF-Hong Kong senior program director is pleased with the drop in figures cited by the government.

"We were very surprised when we saw this figure as the mainland has traditionally been Hong Kong's biggest re-export market. We do not rule out the possibility that the central government's anti-corruption measures could have played a role in the big drop in re-exports."

Fin exports to Hong Kong dropped from 8,285 tonnes in 2012 to 5,412 tonnes, their lowest level in more than a decade, the green group said.

Tsang is pushing for more, saying the Hong Kong government should be more transparent and implement a coding practice used for bluefin tuna to allow for the identification of shark species that need to be tracked.

"Scientific identification, through DNA testing of randomly selected shark fins, could also be deployed for verification purposes, Tsang said.

She also called on the government to collect and release full statistics on the shark fin trade, including species, volume and country of origin, as trade in eight shark species are now restricted under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Local shark fin traders obviously aren't happy with the plunge in numbers. Ricky Leung Lak-kee, chairman of the Hong Kong Marine Products Association says the local shark fin industry has been hit hard by the drop in demand from China.

The industry saw a 60 percent drop in shark fin import prices and a 20 to 30 percent fall in business in the past year, he said.

He rejected claims that the shark fin trade hurt the environment. Leung said two-thirds of Hong Kong's imports were from blue sharks that are not listed on CITES.

"The industry follows international law stipulated by CITES. There is a reason why it exists... I don't understand why green groups and the government keep discriminating against us," he said.

While blue sharks may not be on the list, no sharks should be killed just for their fins, plain and simple. They are necessary to keep the ocean's ecosystems running smoothly and having fewer of them is a bad sign for all of us.

It is heartening to see the demand for shark's fin drop significantly and hope the trend continues. Shark fin soup apparently dates back to the Ming Dynasty. How they thought of the idea of taking a shark's fin and making it into a culinary delicacy is bizarre, but it's a sign of wealth many cannot resist today.

Nevertheless, with greater awareness, we hope the dish may eventually be only found in history books.

Fin-ally Progress on the Shark Front

Hundreds of shark fins drying on a rooftop in Hong Kong's Western district

Finally! The Hong Kong government is finally moving with the times and on Friday decided to stop serving shark fin to show the authorities are "determined to take the lead and set a good example on this front", a government statement said.

It adds the initiative goes "beyond the minimum expectation laid down" in the United Nations treaty that governs the shark fin trade. The ban also applies to blue fin tuna and black sea moss, or fat choy.

"The exclusion of these... items from official menus is a start and also serves as an example of raising public education and awareness on sustainability," a government spokesman said in a press release.

The ban is the result of years of lobbying by conservation groups, who say up to 50 percent of the shark fin trade goes through Hong Kong. Scientists believe some 100 million sharks are killed every year for their fins.

Many Chinese do not know that once the fin is harvested, it will not grow back, and when the finless shark is thrown back into the water, it does a long painful death because it cannot swim properly without its fin.

The infamous shark fin soup

However there is now growing awareness in Hong Kong, with wedding couples insisting on not serving shark fin at their banquets, while airline carriers are shamed if they carry it as cargo. Meanwhile in China the ongoing clamp down on luxurious official dining has resulted in the plunge of shark fin orders from restaurants.

China actually took the lead on sharks fin before Hong Kong -- announcing last year that shark fin would be taken off official banquet menus, though it is believed it will take three years to really take hold.

Nevertheless, the mainland beat Hong Kong on this one, but rather late than never.

With regards to sea moss, we are surprised to hear the over-harvesting of the algae has led to desertification in part of northern China. So much for eating something that was considered a lucky food particularly during Chinese New Year and also supposedly good for colonic health.

In addition to the ban, Hong Kong officials are expected to take the lead and not even eat shark fin when served to them at non-government functions.

With this ban sharks can breathe a bit easier and hopefully their populations will grow again and continue to play a role in the sustainability of ocean life.