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CROSS-STRAIT TALKS: Chen Yunlin says pandas will be sent from Beijing

“Pandas are a treasure of the Chinese people and a symbol of peace ... For reasons we are all aware of, the arrival of the two pandas has been delayed until now, and I am happy to finally announce that they are coming to Taiwan soon.”

— Chen Yunlin, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait chairman

Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) yesterday formally announced that Beijing would send the two giant pandas it had promised in 2005 to the Taipei City Zoo.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said yesterday the exact date of arrival of the pandas would be finalized by ARATS and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), and it was likely that Taiwanese could see the pandas in the zoo around the Lunar New Year holidays.

Chen and SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) held a joint press conference yesterday morning at the Grand Hotel to announce the exchange of pandas and other gifts between Taiwan and China as friendly gestures.

“Pandas are a treasure of the Chinese people and a symbol of peace ... For reasons we are all aware of, the arrival of the two pandas has been delayed until now, and I am happy to finally announce that they are coming to Taiwan soon,” Chen said.

The ARATS chairman, however, did not address the two pandas by their original names, Tuan Tuan (團團) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓), simply calling them “pandas” during the ceremony.

China will also give Taiwan 17 Dove Tree saplings, a native plant in central China also known as “green panda,” as an appreciation for Taiwanese assistance and hospitality after the Sichuan Earthquake in May.

In return, the zoo announced it would give Beijing one pair of Formosan sika deer and one pair of Formosan serow.

Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰), who was expected to attend the event and represent Taiwan in accepting the pandas, did not show up at the ceremony.

Hau and Taipei Zoo director Jason Yeh (葉傑生) also attended the ceremony.

ARATS showed a video clip introducing the pandas and the trees, and SEF also showed a clip about the animals to be sent to China.

Beijing offered Taiwan two pandas during Lien’s trip to China in 2005.

The government of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) objected because China considered the offer of pandas a “domestic transfer” between zoos. However, the Council of Agriculture approved the animals shortly after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office on May 20 and chose the Taipei City Zoo to house them.
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