(JP) Pandas: pawns in a game of international diplomacy

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

MEDIA MIX

Pandas: pawns in a game of international diplomacy

 

By PHILIP BRASOR

As he often does, Shintaro Ishihara recently offered his views on a subject that

didn't concern him and kicked up a controversy. During a press conference, the

Tokyo governor sardonically questioned the " divinity " of pandas and wondered out

loud, " Do we really need them? " — thus adding fuel to the argument about

whether or not Ueno Zoo, whose sole panda, Ling Ling, died on April 30, should

get another one.

 

Actually, the matter does concern Ishihara, because while the so-called panda

diplomacy was carried out between Japan and China, Ueno Zoo is run by Tokyo, and

it is Ueno Zoo that will pay for the acquisition, which would amount to more

than ¥100 million a year. Consequently, Ishihara's comment reflects the tone of

those people who called the zoo saying they don't think a new panda is needed,

either.

 

It's been mentioned that many of these calls, as well as Ishihara's comment,

were prompted more by anti-China feelings than by fiscal concerns. Ishihara is a

notorious China-basher and a good portion of the callers mentioned Tibetan

independence during their panda protests. Japan is simply aiding the Chinese

government in its crackdown in Tibet if it pays for a new panda, some of these

callers said.

 

As evidenced by the sort of people you saw on the news getting into scuffles

with Chinese students several weeks ago during the Olympic torch relay in

Nagano, it's obvious that some of these anti-panda forces are only marginally

interested in Tibetan independence and wouldn't know the Dalai Lama from Yul

Brynner.

 

Many are hardcore Japanese nationalists who will take advantage of any

opportunity to mix it up with China apologists, but whatever their reasons for

protesting the panda acquisition, it's obvious that it benefits the Chinese more

than it does the Japanese.

 

During Chinese President Hu Jintao's recent historic visit to Japan, a number of

TV pundits said that Ling Ling couldn't have died at a better time for him —

one weekly magazine even speculated that the Chinese might have assassinated the

animal. Desperate to improve relations with Japan after a decade of chilly

feelings over sideshows like Yasukuni, Hu immediately offered to lend Ueno Zoo a

pair of pandas to replace Ling Ling, and with a single gesture engendered

immeasurable goodwill among the Japanese people.

 

The controversy over what have been called " panda rental fees " is a bit more

problematic. The program ostensibly represents a conscientious effort to

safeguard an endangered species, but some consider it a racket. Until 1981,

China gave away pandas as gifts. After the country signed the Washington

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species it implemented a policy

wherein zoos could lease pandas, with the proceeds going to panda conservation

and repopulation efforts in China. Fees would be determined by the relative

wealth of the country where the zoos are located. Zoos in Japan and the U.S. pay

about a million dollars a year for a panda, while it's believed that Thailand

pays about a quarter of that amount.

 

The achievements of the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center, one of at least

two panda-conservation facilities funded by the rental program, depends on which

news article you read. Some conservationists believe that the high birthrate at

the facility — 36 in 2006 alone — is reason enough to support it. However,

other conservationists don't really see enough effort being made to return

pandas to the wild, and some think the facility is nothing more than a PR tool.

China can point to its pandas and the center as proof that it cares about

wildlife and nature conservation in general. After all, the panda is the symbol

of the World Wildlife Federation.

 

But are pandas the symbol of the WWF because they're endangered or because

they're cute and cute is what draws people's attention? There are an estimated

1,500 pandas in the world, which doesn't sound like many but pandas are

notoriously bad at reproducing — females are in heat only two days a year —

and they live on bamboo leaves and nothing but bamboo leaves. The species, whose

existence is precarious by definition, doesn't seem so much endangered as simply

rare, and there's a difference. The combination of universally recognized

adorability and natural scarcity is what gives the animal its aura. Pandas may

not be gods, as Ishihara pointed out, but in media terms they are certainly

celebrities.

 

That's why the Washington Post refers to them as " the rock stars of the captive

animal world. " In the 1970s and '80s, they were guaranteed to attract crowds,

but the four American zoos that currently keep pandas are seriously

reconsidering the high fees they are paying to China since zoo visitors seem

less interested in the animals than they used to be.

 

People in Japan also wonder why Ueno Zoo really needs a new panda or two,

especially when there are plenty of pandas in other Japanese zoos. As a letter

writer to the Asahi Shimbun pointed out, the younger you are the greater your

attraction to pandas, and elementary school children are not charged admission

to Ueno Zoo, thus making pandas less cost-efficient in terms of generating

revenue. Of course, public zoos aren't supposed to make money, but one can't

help but think that animals are better cared for in a zoo that's financially

well off. Wakayama's Adventure World, a private zoo that has successfully bred

pandas — it currently keeps six — charges preteens ¥2,300 to get in.

 

Nevertheless, last week Ueno Zoo announced it was fixing up Ling Ling's old

enclosure in anticipation of its new residents, thus indicating it doesn't have

a choice in the matter. The prerogatives of bilateral diplomacy supersede the

wants and needs of a place like Ueno Zoo. For that matter, they supersede the

wants and needs of pandas, too.

 

The Japan Times

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