Taipei Zoo pandas, Taipei Zoo

Chlidonias · 3 Nov 2008

Taipei Zoo looks to pandas' arrival to Taiwan - Taiwan News Online

Taipei City Zoo celebrated the 22th anniversary of its relocation to its current premises yesterday, holding a series of activities including events to mark the anticipated arrival of the two giant pandas presented by Beijing as a gift to Taiwan.
After a puppet performance opened the celebration to mark the zoo's move from downtown Taipei to the suburban Muzha district in 1986, visitors were also entertained by quizzes on panda conservation, a drawing competition and outdoor music concerts.

Under the theme of "treasuring old friends and learning about new friends," Taipei City Zoo Director Jason Yeh said these activities infuse fun into educational events that not only teach the general public about pandas, but also about the habits and behavior of the Formosan black bear.

"In celebrating the arrival of the pandas, Taipei City Zoo capitalized on the occasion of the 22th anniversary of its relocation to hold a series of educational events on pandas," Yeh said.

It is believed that Taiwan will officially accept the offer of two pandas when it exchanges gifts with China in Taipei during the visit of Chen Yunlin, president of the quasi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), Nov. 3-7.

In keeping with normal practice for exchanging animals, Taipei will offer Beijing species that are endemic to Taiwan - the Formosan sika deer and the Formosan serow, or wild goat - as reciprocal gifts for accepting the pandas.

The Formosan sika deer are highly endangered and possibly already extinct in the wild. They can be found in several zoos and are being kept alive by a captive-management program.

In May, 2005, China offered to give Taiwan two pandas known as "Tuan Tuan" and "Yuan Yuan," which means unification in Chinese.

The offer was turned down by the then ruling Democratic Progressive Party administration, suspicious that the proposal was part of Beijing's efforts to persuade the island to unify with China.

It also insisted that any transfer be consistent with Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) guidelines for moving endangered species across borders.

Under the convention, Taiwan would be required to obtain an import license and China an export license from CITES to executive the transfer, which would imply the recognition of Taiwan as an independent state.

China said the transfer would be made between provinces "inside its borders" to get around the convention rules, which proved unacceptable to the DPP government.

It is unclear what formula could be used to protect the animals while sidestepping the sovereignty question.

Incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has said he would welcome the pandas as a gesture of good will by Beijing as another symbol of warming ties between Taiwan and China.
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Chlidonias · 17 Dec 2008

just in time for Pedro's trip....
Chinese pandas set to arrive Taiwan by Christmas: SEF - Taiwan News Online

Two pandas from China are highly likely to arrive in Taiwan on Dec. 23, Taiwanese officials said yesterday.

Taiwan had already received the export and import documents from China, so all that remained to be handled were technical details, said Kao Koong-lian, the vice chairman and secretary general of the Straits Exchange Foundation.

The animals would likely go on show to the general public at the Taipei Zoo before the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday in late January, Kao said.

The details still to be worked out include the type of aircraft to be used for the move from Chengdu in China's Sichuan Province, and the choosing of the animal experts planning to accompany the animals on their trip to Taiwan, he said.

Taiwan's EVA Air announced yesterday evening it had won the contract to fly the pandas from Sichuan to Taiwan.

Taipei City Government spokesman Yang Hsiao-tung, currently heading a delegation visiting Chengdu to discuss the animals' trip, also said Dec. 23 would be the best date. However, foggy weather could present an extra problem when moving the pandas from their mountainous habitat in Ya'an to Chengdu, reports said.

Taiwan selected the Taipei Zoo to house the pandas over its only competitor, the Leofoo amusement park and zoo in Hsinchu County.

China promised the animals, named Tuantuan and Yuanyuan or Unity, during a 2005 visit by then-Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party vetoed the pandas when it was in power, mainly on the premise that China would not respect international agreements for exporting the protected animals, in effect treating Taiwan as a non-sovereign entity.

Yesterday DPP members of the Taiwan City Council said the listing of the importer and exporter locations as Taiwan, Taipei and Chengdu clearly belittled Taiwan, presenting the transfer as a domestic affair.

The DPP politicians also opposed the fact that China was handling the animals under rules guiding traditional Chinese medicine, and not under the international treaties on protected animals, known as CITES.

Previous plans for the pandas to arrive simultaneously with China's top negotiator Chen Yunlin on his first visit to Taiwan last November failed to materialize.

The decision to have the pandas transferred to Taiwan after all is widely seen as another sign of improving cross-straits relations under the rule of President Ma Ying-jeou, who took office last May with the promise to relax trade and other exchanges between Taiwan and China.
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Chlidonias · 30 Dec 2008

http://www.cctv.com/english/20081229/102487.shtml
there's a video on the link too

Chinese mainland Pandas Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan have been in the Taipei Zoo for several days, and are said to be "getting on well in their new environment." A spokesman for the zoo has confirmed that they're in good physical and psychological condition.

Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan are still in quarantine. But children in Taiwan couldn't wait to take a look at their outdoor enclosure during the weekend.

A Taipei resident said, "Yeoh, we are looking forward to their appearance. Just have a walk today"

The zoo provided a video showing Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan enjoying their new life. They are also enjoying one other's company very well.

However, they are a little picky about food right now. Tuan Tuan lost 3.6 kilograms and Yuan Yuan lost 3.8 kilograms. The zoo says Taiwan's home-grown bamboo seems suit the panda's flavor.

Lin Huaqqing, researcher of Taipei Zoo, said, "The change of environment may lead to minor nervousness. This may be the main reason the pandas eat less. Their food from mainland will keep for several weeks."

The zoo keepers will change the mix of the pandas' food, gradually reducing the amount from the mainland while increasing Taiwan's home-grown bamboo. This will help the Pandas adapt to their new home.

The two giant pandas are a goodwill gift from the Chinese mainland. Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan symbolize the ever-closer ties across the Taiwan Strait.
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Simon Hampel · 30 Jan 2009

Panda mania sweeps Taiwan - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Thousands of Taiwanese have flocked to the capital's zoo as a pair of giant pandas given to the island by China made their highly anticipated public debut.

More than 6,000 visitors braved a cold, drizzly Lunar New Year's Day morning to get a glimpse of the four-year-old bears at the Taipei Zoo, officials there said.

More than 22,000 people are expected to visit the panda enclosure daily, but some visitors complained there was hardly time to take a good look at Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan due to the big crowds.

"I like the pandas very much but I only got to see them for a few seconds. I want to come to the zoo again when it's less crowded," said fourth-grader Chen Yuan-pei from the southern city of Kaohsiung.

The pandas, born in China's Sichuan province, were given to Taiwan as part of a series of measures by the two sides to ease tensions that have lasted since a civil war divided them in 1949.

Tuanyuan, a combination of the Chinese characters, means reunion or unity.

Vendors at the zoo enjoyed brisk sales of panda memorabilia including toys, hats, bags and balloons.

"We sold more than 100 toy pandas in a few hours and our daily target of 20,000 Taiwan dollars ($900) in sales was already met," said one vendor.

City authorities have spent about $15 million on the enclosure and hope the bears will attract six million visitors a year.

Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan were earmarked for Taiwan in 2006, but their arrival was only made possible after Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou took office last year.
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snowleopard · 30 Jan 2009

Giant pandas equal mega dollars and mega attendance numbers. Adelaide, Edinburgh and Oakland better be prepared for their upcoming star attractions!

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Taipei Zoo pandas, Taipei Zoo

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