Pandas should live in the wild: Chen

Deputy Taipei Mayor Yeh Chin-chuan (葉金川), convener of the city government's "panda team" which was set up to lobby for the city being chosen as the animals' new home, denounced Chen's remarks yesterday.

"I agree with President Chen 100 percent that pandas which live in the forest should not be sent to Taiwan. But the pandas [offered by China] are kept in a wildlife protection area," Yeh said yesterday at the Taipei City Hall.

Pandas which live in wildlife parks are different from those which live in the wild, Yeh said.

"President Chen's remarks have misled the people ... I would hope that he would make the effort to understand the situation before making comments," he said.

additional reporting by mo yan-chih