China clears import of frozen durian from Malaysia

FROZEN whole durian from Malaysia has been cleared for import into China, reported China Press.

The daily cited a statement issued by the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) on May 30 which said that the imported fruits must comply with specific guidelines and standards.

Among the requirements are that durian pulps must be kept below -30°C for 30 minutes, and for whole fruits at between -80°C and -110°C for not less than an hour before being transported.

Durian orchards authorised for importation must also install nets to prevent the fruits from having any contact with the ground.

The approval came after visits by GACC officials to Malaysia to audit the participating facilities.

Malaysia had signed an export protocol with China for frozen whole durian in August last year in Beijing.

> Sin Chew Daily reported that the much talked about debate between China Global Television Network’s Liu Xin and Fox Business Network’s Trish Regan turned out to be more of an “informative dialogue”.

The audience had expected sparks to fly during the debate, which was taking place in the midst of the China-US trade war.

Liu had tweeted on Thursday that she appreciated the opportunity of appearing in the programme which was aired live on American prime time television.

“Really appreciated the opportunity to have a dialogue instead of a debate. At this moment, we need to cool down instead of heating up,” she said.

Regan replied: “I agree that it was an informative dialogue. I appreciate the insight you offered and I’d very much like to have you back.”

Both also expressed their wish to have another conversation about the issue.

> Guang Ming Daily reported that Chinese star Fan BingBing has sold her stake in the Zhejiang Talent Television and Film Co Ltd worth about 36 million yuan (RM22mil), said to be for the settlement of a 892 million yuan (RM547mil) fine for tax evasion and other offences.

Fan’s name had reportedly been removed from the list of 10 shareholders in the company’s annual report for the first quarter of 2019.

In the last annual report, she was listed as the eighth biggest shareholder with 6.44 million shares.

In response, Fan’s management company said the disposal of shares would not affect any future collaboration between Fan and the company.

The actress – known for her role in X-Men: Days of Future Past – was released from “re­sidential surveillance at a designated location”, a form of secret detention, late last year after being embroiled in a scandal for using dual contract arrangements to evade taxes.

?  The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.