Print

Mail

wiki links

Pandas would get a scenic spot in Taichung, Hu says

Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) said yesterday that if the pair of pandas promised by China as a gift to Taiwan are sent to his city, they will be housed in the scenic spot of Takeng (大坑) in northern Taichung County.

Hu said that this is because Takeng, known as the "Yangmingshan of Taichung," has more bamboo, the main food of pandas.

Hu made the remarks a day after outgoing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) said at a farewell party in Taichung that if the pair of pandas come to Taiwan, they will first be housed in Taichung.

Hu said Taichung has for three-and-a-half years actively sought to house Chinese pandas. Noting that although Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has also sought to have his city's zoo house the pandas, Hu said that Ma has never openly opposed Taichung having the honor.

The local media has speculated that the KMT hopes the pandas will be housed in Taichung in order to help Hu's campaign for a second term in office in the year-end mayoral election.

If the pandas are housed in Taichung, Hu said he will not rule out the possibility of having them shown temporarily in the south, so people in that part of the country don't have to travel all the way to Taichung to see the furry creatures.

China offered to send a pair of pandas to the Taiwanese people as a goodwill gift at the conclusion of Lien's visit to China in early May.

A senior official of the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said recently that the pandas can be sent to Taiwan on four conditions: that appropriate application procedures are followed, that a suitable living environment for the pandas is found, that all relevant regulations on delivery are abided by and that approval is obtained from major international conservation groups.
This story has been viewed 2137 times.