Monday 23 March 2009

China's panda ambassadors

Taiwan is the latest potential recipient, after China offered to send two giant pandas to the island to mark a ground-breaking visit to Beijing by Taiwan's opposition leader Lien Chan.
World leaders usually give gifts to their foreign counterparts to mark an official visit. Many monarchs and heads of state give birds, dogs or even racehorses to visiting dignitaries. But for the Chinese, the giant panda is the ultimate gift. "The panda is China's key cultural icon," said Phil Dean at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. "It's a symbol of friendship and peace. It's cute and cuddly, and sends all the right messages of goodwill," he said. It's a way for Beijing to say it cares about the people of Taiwan, and at the same time remind them that they are also Chinese. However,I disagree with using panda as a gift because they are animal not a commodity.It will be better to let them live in their local place.They will be more peace.




Do you agree with this or do you think it just a politic?




Reference
McGeown ,K. (2005,May 3) .China's panda ambassadors.BBC NEWS. Retrieved March 22,2009 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4508873.stm





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2 comments:

  1. Tin24 March 2009 at 18:43

    If they treat them well,it will be OK. If they don't, I think that we should claim to bring them back.

    However, I love panda!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bee25 March 2009 at 00:02

    I agree with you Tan. Pandas are endangered species and should remain in their local habitat. China gave Thailand 2 pandas in 2003, and they live in Chiangmai Zoo. Although they are cute, they are very expensive to take care of. It cost almost 60 million baht to set up living quarters for them when they first arrived. I'm sure a substantial amount has been paid since then for food etc.. All the expenses are paid for with Thai taxpayers' money. It's also my understanding that the pandas have not been given but are on loan from China. So if something happens to the pandas, Thailand has to pay compensation. Just last month, we celebrated Elephant Day. It was very sad to hear that the wild elephant population is fast decreasing due mainly to the destruction of their forest habitat. I would rather see my tax being spent protecting our national symbol.

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