On 8 September, the key event of “World Famous Cities: Nanjing Week”—the launching ceremony of public welfare taxis—was held in Sanpower Group. This was the début of United for Wildlife (UfW) in Nanjing, concluded by dozens of British-style taxis filing out of the Group headquarters. Later, they will shuttle in the streets of Nanjing to publicise wildlife protection.

As an important part in the public welfare exchange between Britain and China, this event was attended by Pan Guping, Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of Nanjing, Tony Clemson, Deputy Consul-General of British Consulate-General Shanghai, Phil Roebuck, Chairman of British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, and Kong Jun, CEO of House of Fraser China.

At the spot, 30 British-style taxis painted with patterns of wild elephants and Chinese luehdorfia constituted a splendid scenery of “British style + public welfare”. It is learned that the wild elephant is a major species protected by the UK-based UfW through fighting against illegal hunting in Africa, while Chinese luehdorfia is the representative rare wild species in Nanjing. The selection of the two species, therefore, embodies the public welfare exchange between the two countries on the international level.

Yue Lei, global ambassador of UfW and SVP of Sanpower Group, addressed a speech, saying that wildlife conservation has become a global challenge for mankind, and that the illegal wildlife trade is recognised as the fourth largest transactional crime by value—after drugs, arms and human trafficking. As pointed out by Prince William in Buckingham Palace Declaration, “if we do not turn this around in the next five years then we will have lost this battle forever.”

In 2015, Sanpower Group co-sponsored a wildlife protection initiative with the British Royal Foundation, with a view to promoting the wildlife conservation efforts on a global scale. Yue Lei said the event conveys the concept of wildlife protection, and will also contribute to the “eco-beauty” and “high-degree civilisation” of Nanjing.

Yue also bestowed “Star Driver Ambassador for Public Welfare” honourary title on three representative British-style taxi drivers, expressing his wish that they will deliver UfW’s spirit of wildlife protection to every corner of Nanjing.

Tony Clemson, Deputy Consul-General of Consulate-General in Shanghai, noted that it should be the responsibility of all human beings to conserve wildlife, and that the British-style taxis in Nanjing will continue to deliver the idea of protecting wildlife to tens of thousands of people and guide more people to join in public welfare undertakings.

Phil Roebuck, Chairman of British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, also said that successful enterprises focus on sustainable development and rewarding the society, and that he admires Sanpower Group as it has always been engaging in philanthropic efforts. He expected the British-style taxis to become the representative of public welfare contributors in Nanjing.

Finally, Yue Lei declared that the public-welfare taxis for “Nanjing Week of The London Design Festival 2016: Wildlife Protection” set out officially. And he started the charity tour among the first passengers.

After the launching ceremony, Yue Lei told reporters that at the end of the year, "Nanjing Declaration" public welfare activities will be initiated to appeal to multiple parties to resist the ivory trade, and to raise the public awareness of wildlife conservation. Moreover, propaganda activities for wildlife protection will be carried out in several cities late in the year. At the same time, Sanpower Group will continue to exert efforts in Africa to build more wildlife observation stations other than the two existing ones in Kenya and Botswana.