Chinese Business Tycoons Join Fight to Save Sharks

Today, Mr. Huang Nubo and Ms. Wei Xue joined WildAid to premiere China’s first Public Service Announcement in which leading CEOs call on the business community to “say no to shark fin soup.”

The PSA features Mr. Huang Nubo (Chairman, Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group), Mr. Feng Lun (Chairman, Beijing Vantone Real Estate), Mr. Li Dongsheng (Chairman, TCL Corporation), Mr. Hu Baosen (Chairman, Jianye Real Estate Development), and Ms. Wei Xue (Founder, PRAP China).

Mr. Huang says, “We filmed the PSA in order to fulfill our social responsibility to China and the world as Chinese entrepreneurs. We urge other Chinese business leaders to support shark conservation and say no to shark fin soup.”
Earlier this month, the Government Offices Administration of the State Council agreed to stop serving shark fin soup at official banquets. It was also reported that local governments of Yueqing city (home of the shark processing town, Puqi) and Wenzhou city (the birthplace of China’s private economy) have recently banned shark fin soup from official banquets.

This news comes at the peak of a massive public awareness campaign in China by WildAid, to “say no to shark fin soup”. In 2006, former NBA star and WildAid Ambassador Yao Ming famously committed to never eat shark fin soup again in a WildAid PSA, which has since been seen by hundreds of millions of people in China.

In response to the government announcements, Peter Knights, Executive Director of WildAid, states, “We hope this is the first step in comprehensive legal protection for sharks in China. We are thrilled to have the support of Mr. Huang, Ms. Wei, and other CEOs representing the Chinese business community.”

Since 2009, WildAid has been working closely with China’s business community and has garnered the support of over 140 business leaders who have signed a pledge to never consume shark fin soup. This PSA was produced with the support of The Roddenberry Foundation and the Packard Foundation.

Fins from up to 73 million sharks are used every year to make shark fin soup and related food products. Shark finning is a cruel and wasteful practice – captured at sea and hauled on deck, the sharks are often still alive while their fins are sliced off. Because shark meat is not considered as valuable as the fins, the maimed animals are tossed overboard to drown or bleed to death. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that 1/3 of the world’s pelagic shark species are threatened with extinction, with certain species experiencing declines over 90%.