Mr Zhao Xue-min (right), chairman of China Wildlife Conservation Association, presents a picture of Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan to Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin (left) during a welcome ceremony for the two pandas in Taipei zoo. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
TAIPEI - TWO pandas gifted by China are adjusting well to their new surroundings in Taiwan, where proud officials said on Wednesday they hope they will soon produce offspring.
Taiwan party labels 'panda diplomacy' propaganda
TAIPEI - LAWMAKERS from Taiwan's pro-independence opposition on Wednesday blasted a gift of two giant pandas from rival China, calling them 'political weapons' meant to help Beijing establish control over the self-governed island.
Underscoring the criticism, two legislative aides from the Democratic Progressive Party paraded in the background wearing panda costumes, mockingly miming past Chinese successes in using 'panda diplomacy' to advance Beijing's international agenda.
The giant pandas were transported on Tuesday from their birthplace in China's Sichuan province to Taipei on a groundbreaking trip that is the latest sign of fast thawing ties between the traditional rivals.
'We are proud to say that we are ready, and we want to reassure the people in Sichuan that we will take good care of Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan,' said Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin.
'We will ensure that the pandas are happy and healthy, and hope that they will have offspring soon,' he said at a welcoming ceremony in the pandas' new home in Taipei Zoo.
Zhao Xuemin, who led a Chinese delegation of 22 animal experts accompanying the pandas to Taiwan, expressed similar wishes.
'We will provide unconditional technical support to the Taipei Zoo so the pandas can grow robustly in Taipei and breed,' said Mr Zhao, who heads the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
Zoo spokesman Jason Chin said the four-year-old animals were adjusting well to their new surroundings with a hearty appetite and a good night's rest.
'Tuanyuan' - a combination of the characters making up the two pandas' names - means 'reunion' or 'unity' in Chinese.
The bears are expected to be unveiled to the Taiwanese public during the Lunar New Year holidays starting Jan 25, if they complete their quarantine with a clean bill of health.
'I am so excited that Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan are here. I hope they will have babies soon so there will be more pandas' in Taiwan, said fifth grader Tsai Meng-an while visiting the zoo.
However, the Taiwanese public will have to wait at least two years before Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan are mature enough for breeding, zoo officials said.
The famously sexually inactive giant pandas are among the world's most endangered animals.
The Taipei city government, which has invested around US$10 million (S$14.4 million) in an enclosure at Taipei zoo, expects them to attract six million visitors a year.
The pandas were earmarked as envoys to Taiwan in 2006 but their arrival was only made possible after Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou took office earlier this year. -- AFP
