[转帖]Pandaplomacy

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IT'S the ultimate gift for the country that has everything; and China, well aware of the diplomatic power of a panda, hands them out sparingly. In 2007 Australia and Spain became the latest countries to get their own. Spain's pair were sped through the VIP section of Madrid airport on their way to the city's zoo. Australia's, offered by President Hu Jintao during a visit to Sydney, are expected to arrive at Adelaide Zoo in 2009 (for the usual fee, of course).

The most political of all panda presents are Tuantuan and Yuanyuan (left). Now among Wolong's most famous attractions, the two bears were offered to Taiwan in 2005. Taiwan's independence-minded government turned them down, accusing China of using pandas to further its goal of taking over the island. The couple's names did not go down well either: tuanyuan means “reunited” in Chinese.

There is still hope. Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang, may win the presidential election in 2008. The KMT is pro-panda (China's offer was made to the party, not directly to the Taiwanese government). Despite a ruling by the Council of Agriculture in 2006 that the pandas could not be imported, Taipei's optimistic zoo has been busy building a panda enclosure. A rival bid has been made by a nearby theme park, Leofoo Village, which has already built its panda facilities. Sean Chuang, chairman of the company that owns Leofoo Village, says there is nothing wrong with the pandas' names. A KMT spokesman agrees.

Meanwhile, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan wait in their misty Chinese limbo. And pragmatic officials in Sichuan are doing good business luring Taiwanese tourists to Wolong to see the pair there.