Luxury mooncakes won’t go away – nor will plastic waste

IF THERE is one force that has shaped the past few decades, it is the relentless willpower of the Chinese Communist Party.

Beijing’s efforts to control its environment have levelled mountains, tamed mighty rivers, reshaped global trade flows, and sparked a fourth industrial revolution in clean energy. But there is one immovable object that even this unstoppable force cannot shift: the mooncake.

The sweet, decorated pastries – traditionally eaten to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was celebrated on Monday (Oct 6) this year – have long been an object of official concern. During President Xi Jinping’s early years in power, they were a target of anti-corruption campaigns, due to the informal gift economy that sees millions of lavishly packaged cake boxes exchanged between friends, employees and business partners.