Panda diplomacy helps repair rift

0 CommentsPrint E-mail China Daily, October 31, 2009
Adjust font size:

The latest sign of a thaw in tension between China and Australia was not an agreement reached at the bargaining table or a handshake between politicians but some much cuter diplomacy.

Panda diplomacy helps repair rift

China has agreed to send a pair of giant pandas to South Australia's Adelaide Zoo.

The couple will call the zoo home for the next decade.

The two giant pandas, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, were put into quarantine on Oct 21 in the Bifengxia base at the Wolong Nature Reserve in Ya'an, Sichuan province. When they emerge from their segregation, they will be ready to travel to Australia, said Li Desheng, deputy chief of the Wolong Nature Reserve, on Friday.

Li has recently returned from a visit to Adelaide Zoo.

He said the bears could begin their life there very soon, although the exact date is yet to be fixed by the State Forestry Administration.

The news follows recent heightened tension between Beijing and Canberra over alleged Australian government restrictions on Chinese investment in mining. On top of that, ties were further strained when an Australian mining executive was arrested in China. Beijing also recently criticized Canberra's decision to grant an entry permit to Rebiya Kadeer, who it believes was behind the July 5 riot in Urumqi, in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, that claimed 197 lives.

Panda diplomacy helps repair rift

Li said construction of the panda exhibit at Adelaide Zoo is complete and will be officially opened on Dec 13.

Australian governor-general Quentin Bryce will open the new facility along with Zhang Junsai, China's ambassador to Australia.

Adelaide Zoo has dispatched a special team of experts to work with the Chinese experts at the Bifengxia base to study the pandas in their natural environment.

China agreed to send two giant pandas to Australia in September 2007 at a meeting between President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister John Howard at that time before an Asia-Pacific summit.

The male panda, Wang Wang, was born on Aug 31, 2005, while the female, Fu Ni, was born on Aug 23, 2006.

They will spend 10 years at the zoo as part of a breeding program aimed at ensuring the survival of the endangered bears. Both pandas were bred in captivity at the Wolong Nature Reserve in Wenchuan county, Sichuan. After the May 12, 2008, earthquake destroyed the panda enclosures in Wolong, they were sent to its Bifengxia base.

President Hu Jintao said the pandas represent friendship between the countries.

"I would like to stress that this is the first time that a pair of Chinese giant pandas have ever settled in Australia and, to be more specific, in the Southern Hemisphere," he said.

Former Prime Minister John Howard said Australia welcomes the gesture from China.

"It's important, when you're talking about billions of dollars of resource contracts and you're talking about tens of thousands of students, it's also important to find in the relationship, the warmth and exhilaration that can come from the temporary residence of such lovely creatures," he said.

Adelaide Zoo is also hoping the pandas will be a major tourist attraction.

The zoo's director of conservation programs, Kevin Evans, said they will likely be a huge draw.

"We feel that people will come from New Zealand and interstate to see pandas as they do internationally," Evans said. "People will travel vast distances to see giant pandas because they are so interesting and have been the flagship for conservation for over 30 years."

The giant panda is one of the world's rarest animals. There are only about 1,590 in the wild in China, mostly in the southwest. Another 210 have been bred in captivity.

China has been raising pandas through artificial insemination and breeding programs for nearly 50 years. It set up a loan system in 1984 under which foreign zoos can house pairs of bears in the captive breeding program.

Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Comments

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • Your Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter
主站蜘蛛池模板: 男人的天堂黄色| 黄色毛片免费观看| 女大学生的沙龙| 中文字幕在线视频在线看| 日韩欧美中文字幕一区二区三区| 亚洲欧美日韩国产vr在线观 | 欧美中文字幕一区| 亚洲欧美综合国产不卡| 男人操女人免费| 午夜亚洲国产理论秋霞| 老师让我她我爽了好久视频| 国产在线精品一区二区不卡麻豆| 五月婷婷婷婷婷| 国产精品亲子乱子伦xxxx裸 | 男人咬奶边做好爽免费视频| 公车校花小柔h| 精品女同一区二区三区免费站| 国产va免费精品高清在线| 野花日本免费观看高清电影8| 国产成人 亚洲欧洲| 精品一区二区视频在线观看| 国产精品va在线观看一| 最新黄色网址在线观看| 国产精品理论电影| 88国产精品视频一区二区三区 | 伊人色综合网一区二区三区 | 免费日本三级电影| 精品久久8X国产免费观看| 午夜无码A级毛片免费视频| 综合亚洲欧美日韩一区二区| 国产一区二区三区乱码在线观看| 视频一本大道香蕉久在线播放| 国产小视频在线观看网站| 黄色大片在线观看| 国产成人av区一区二区三| 成人污视频网站| 国产成人精品久久一区二区三区| 欧美jizz18| 国产成年无码久久久免费| 成人免费视频69| 国产在线观看网站萌白酱视频|