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Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation
(SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (R) attends a news conference to exchange
rare animals and plants with Chief of mainland's Association for Relations
Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chen Yunlin in Taipei, southeast China's
Taiwan Province, Nov. 6, 2008. The mainland chief negotiator on Taiwan
affairs said here Thursday morning that the giant panda pair that the
mainland promised to donate to Taiwan three years ago will soon arrive on
the island. The mainland also offered Taiwan 17 Nyssaceae seedlings, a
rare flowering plant that grows in the mainland only. On behalf of
mainland compatriots, Chen accepted a pair of indigenous goats with the
scientific name of naemorhedus swinhoei and a pair of spotted deers.
(Xinhua Photo/Xing Guangli)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
TAIPEI, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland chief negotiator on Taiwan
affairs said here Thursday morning that the giant panda pair that the mainland
promised to donate to Taiwan three years ago will soon arrive on the island.
After completing paperwork, the panda pair, Tuan Tuan
and Yuan Yuan, will arrive in Taiwan and be housed at the Taipei Mucha Zoo, said
Chen Yunlin, president of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the
Taiwan Strait (ARATS).
The mainland announced in May 2005 it would donate
two giant pandas to Taiwan to demonstrate its goodwill. But their departure has
been delayed for more than three years.
The 4-year-old pandas, one of China's most endangered
animal species, are at a panda breeding base in Ya'an, southwestern Sichuan
Province.
They were transferred to the base on June 18 from the
Wolong Nature Reserve, also in Sichuan, which was seriously damaged in the May
12 earthquake.
"The giant panda is a treasure of the Chinese nation
and it is a symbol of peace and auspiciousness," Chen said. "It is the sincere
wish of the mainland compatriots that the giant panda could live and breed on
the island."
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Taiwan-based Straits Exchange
Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (R) shows the pictures of two
rare animals from Taiwan with Chief of mainland's Association for Relations
Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chen Yunlin during a press conference
in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan Province, Nov. 6, 2008. (Xinhua
Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
According
to the Taipei city zoo, the panda pair are likely to arrive in mid December.
"They are likely to meet the public at around the
Spring Festival after one-month quarantine," a zoo official said. The Spring
Festival falls on Jan. 26, 2009.
The mainland also offered Taiwan 17 Nyssaceae
seedlings, a rare flowering plant that grows on the mainland only.
Chen said the plants were gifts from the Qiang
minority group in Wenchuan, a county in Sichuan Province devastated by the May
12earthquake.
On behalf of mainland compatriots, Chen also accepted
two rare animals from Taiwan. One is an indigenous goat with the scientific name
of naemorhedus swinhoei, the other is a spotted deer.
"The gifts showed the gratitude of mainland compatriots,
including those in the quake-affected areas, to the Taiwan compatriots for their
generous donations and help (for quake relief)," he said.
Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF)
chairman Chiang Pin-kung accepted the gifts and said Taiwan would take good care
of the pandas and plants to ensure they grow healthily.
On behalf of mainland compatriots, Chen also accepted
two rare animals from Taiwan. One is an indigenous goat with the scientific name
of naemorhedus swinhoei, the other is a spotted deer.
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Chief of mainland's
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chen Yunlin
(L) shows a picture of the giant panda pair that
the mainland promised to donate to Taiwan three years ago with
Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung during a press conference
in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan Province, Nov. 6, 2008. (Xinhua Photo/Xing
Guangli)
Photo Gallery>>>
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