Authorities in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Wednesday revealed an investigation into a banquet where pangolin was served, which caused a public outcry.
On Monday, the screenshot of a microblog post about Guangxi officials inviting investors from Hong Kong to eat pangolin at a reception went viral on Sina Weibo. Officials from the Guangxi Investment Promotion Agency have been accused of hosting the banquet.
The regional commission for discipline inspection said only one official was involved in the "private" banquet.
According to the commission, Guangxi hosted an investment tour for a group of Hong Kong entrepreneurs in July 2015. After the tour, some "individual members of the group" took part in a personal banquet at the canteen of a local private enterprise.
The only official at the banquet was Li Ning, a former official with the regional work committee of higher education. Li was arrested on suspicion of corruption in May 2016.
"No members of the Guangxi Investment Promotion Agency took part in the banquet," the commission said in a statement.
Authorities are still investigating whether pangolin was consumed at the banquet, according to the commission.
Pangolin is an endangered animal under state protection in China.
