Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) may not return from his historic trip to China with a solution to all cross-strait disputes -- but he could have Taiwan's first giant panda in tow, a local Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday.
The paper said yesterday -- without mentioning a source -- that Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Lien and Hu are expected to meet in Beijing this week -- the first high-level contact between leaders of the two sides in more than five decades.
While not confirming the report, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Training
"Our animal specialists have had contacts with their mainland counterparts recently and have received a degree of training," Ma said.
The specialists will be ready to handle the job after given a further few months of intensive training, Ma said.
Ma said bamboo grown in Zhuzihu on Yangmingshan will supply food for the pandas, although more will have to be planted to meet the demand.
Imperiled species
However, as the panda is one of the imperiled species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), it still requires the approval of the agricultural authorities of both sides before it can be exported from China to Taiwan, Ma noted.
A zoo enclosure could be completed before year's end and staff training could be wrapped up within months -- at a cost of about NT$50 million (US$1.58 million).
Pandas are among the world's rarest animals. About 1,600 giant pandas survive in the wild, mostly in the mountains in southwestern China. Some 160 live in captivity.
Donating the rare animals to prominent world leaders is a tradition that goes back at least to 1972, when then US president Richard Nixon made a historic visit to China.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
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