GIANT PANDAS CAST INTO SINO TAIWAN POLITICAL CONFLICT

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Panda Politics

A pair of the world's most adorable animals has unwittingly been thrown into

the long-running conflict between China and Taiwan.

 

By Melinda Liu

Newsweek

Updated: 6:22 p.m. ET Jan. 10, 2006

Jan. 10, 1006 - Once again the rival regimes in Beijing and Taipei are

engaged in a war of words, but this time the topic is pandas. Specifically a

cute, cuddly, just-can't-resist pair of giant panda cubs which Chinese

authorities have offered to Taiwan as a " goodwill gesture. " Problem is,

Taiwanese authorities are trying hard to resist what some call the

mainland's " panda ploy. "

 

 

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Taiwan Premier Frank Hsieh said the island was unlikely to accept the

creatures because to do so would " compromise our sovereignty. " The reasoning

goes like this: Pandas are an endangered species, and under the Convention

on International Trade in Endangered Species, pandas can only be lent—not

given—by China to other countries. Taiwan has no pandas; the animals are

native only to mainland China, where 1,590 live in the wild and 190 are

being kept in zoos and breeding centers.

 

But the Beijing regime considers Taiwan a renegade province that must be

reunited with the mainland—by force if necessary. So China can claim that

the gift pandas are a " domestic transfer, " in which the animals are simply

moved from one part of China to the other. To accept the

creatures—irresistible though they may be—would imply that Taiwan is merely

a Chinese province, which is precisely what Taipei fears and Beijing wants.

 

So the darling animals have now been dubbed " the Trojan pandas. " The

controversy swirling around them are a legacy of the Chinese civil war, in

which communist leader Mao Tse-tung defeated his rival Chiang Kai-shek in

1949. Chiang fled to Taiwan, and ever since the island has governed itself

but only a few dozen nations officially recognize it as a sovereign country.

Beijing has been pushing for reunification all the while.

 

Now Beijing's panda offer becomes merely the latest dispute in this

long-running drama. Earlier this month Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian made

a get-tough speech on cross-straits relations, partly in response to his

Democratic Progressive Party's losses to the opposition Kuomintang party

(KMT) in December's key municipal elections. In a move that displeased

Beijing, he called for a new constitution and unveiled regulations requiring

more stringent monitoring of Taiwan firms investing on the mainland.

" Whatever China says or does to Taiwan, it has only one purpose—to annex

Taiwan, " said Chen. " Giving away pandas and offering preferential

[commercial] treatment to the people of Taiwan are part of its measures to

achieve this purpose. In view of this, to keep on tilting towards China is

no different to committing suicide. "

 

Pandas are such a symbol of the People's Republic of China that pro-Beijing

Americans are called " panda-huggers " by their critics. Even today, the comic

creatures are a phenomenal draw at the National Zoo in Washington. Back in

1972, Mao followed up on President Richard Nixon's breakthrough trip to

China by giving a pair of pandas to the zoo—another gift with undeniable

political intentions. The latest star attraction in D.C. is six-month-old

giant panda cub Tai Shan who went on view in December to a frenzy of oohs,

aahs and shutter-clicking panda adulation. Within two hours of being

released, 13,000 tickets for panda-viewing were snapped up—and Tai Shan

photos soon began selling on eBay.

 

 

 

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Nor are Taiwan citizens immune to the lure of " panda diplomacy. " News of

China's offer has made headlines in Taiwan for weeks. The Taipei Zoo has

already begun building a four-story multimillion-dollar panda enclosure; at

least one other zoo is vying to host the animals. Panda mania has even

gripped airlines vying for the honor of transporting the gift pandas across

the Taiwan Straits. Federal Express wants the honor because it's previously

flown two panda couples form China to the United States, and already has an

aircraft dubbed the " Panda Express. "

 

All of which has put many Taiwan government officials on the defensive,

scrambling to justify their " just say no " stand. " Pandas are cute. But they

will be ugly if they are politicized, " says Premier Hsieh. Taipei's

unwillingness to accept the cuddly animals made it necessary for authorities

to work up a position paper to send to diplomatic offices overseas

explaining Taipei's policy to the outside world, said Foreign Affairs Vice

Minister Michael Ying-Mao Kau. " Beijing has manipulated the panda issue,

resulting in misunderstanding and confusion at home and overseas, " said Kau,

calling Beijing's approach " irresponsible. "

 

Meanwhile KMT opposition politicians welcome the panda gifts. Beijing made

its recent offer during an historic mainland visit by then-KMT chairman Lien

Chan last May. (The KMT favors eventual reunification and is squarely

'pro-panda' in the current debate.) Now a KMT legislator says she may call

for a referendum to " let the people decide " this important foreign-policy

issue. (In grassroots surveys, as many as three-fifths of Taiwanese citizens

want the pandas, and many others don't object.) Taiwan's Council of

Agriculture, which insists the animals cannot be imported without its

permission, says it will decide by March 23.

 

Not surprisingly, mainland authorities are milking the situation for all

it's worth. Officials have launched a contest to find nicknames for the two

animals, a PR stunt slated to climax just before the popular Lunar New Year

holiday which is celebrated on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. More than

100 mainland, Taiwan and foreign journalists were hosted at the Wolong Giant

Panda Preserve and Research Center in Sichuan Province to witness the debut

of the gift pandas, which were specially selected from an elite group of 23

cubs.

Chinese media has featured an orgy of " aren't they cute " panda stories. The

official Xinhua News Agency recently reported that the panda cubs—called

No.16 and No. 19—are already " cohabiting, " before being " married, " in order

to enhance the affection between the two cubs. They enjoy all the creature

comforts: a spacious new 600-sq-meter house in which the " bedroom " connects

directly to a playground with rocks, climbing shelves and a pond. The fact

that the two animals have " started to hug each other " while falling asleep

is a good sign, Xinhua reported, because " adult giant pandas are more or

less eccentric and tend to be very picky toward their sexual partner. "

 

 

 

But the animals' adoring audience shouldn't expect any hot panda sex between

Nos. 16 and 19 anytime soon. The animals don't become sexually mature until

they're at least four years old. Besides, pandas are so fickle about mating

in captivity that Chinese researchers reportedly have resorted to

experimenting with everything from " panda porn " videos to Viagra-type

medications to try to put couples in the mood. Over the decades, scientists

have also perfected artificial reproduction techniques for the creatures.

 

Future panda cubs are a recurring theme. The one-year-olds earmarked for

Taipei went through a stringent vetting process, judged by cuteness,

psychological compatibility and genetic composition to help ensure that

they'll mate and have attractive, healthy offspring. " Under the good care of

Taiwanese compatriots, the giant pandas will surely do well and have

descendants, " the head of the Sichuan center Zhang Hewen was quoted as

saying. He also volunteered to share the mainland's artificial reproduction

techniques with his Taiwanese counterparts.

 

The anthropomorphizing of No. 19 (a male called Xiao Guaiguai or " little

darling " by his handlers) and No. 16, the female, has reached almost comic

levels. We know their astrological signs (Virgo), their favorite foods (duh,

bamboo, as with all pandas), hobbies and pedigree. No. 16 excels at

climbing, has a keen sense of balance, and seems an excellent candidate

because her mother bore six cubs. Turns out Xiao Guaiguai is even more of a

diplomatic icon since he's the first " son " of " the well-known

U.S.-bornpanda beauty Huamei, " which translates into " China-America, "

Chinese media

reported.

 

Such hype may seem like so much panda madness—but many China-watchers figure

the Beijing regime is simply being crazy like a fox. In addition to offering

the Taiwanese one of the world's rarest and most irresistible animals,

Chinese authorities also hold out to them the prospect of their very own,

made-in-Taiwan baby pandas. It's an offer the island's citizens may find

difficult to refuse.

 

© 2006 Newsweek, Inc.