Chinese Panda Consipracy

Chinese government gave two pandas to the Taipei zoo as a 'present'. My student had submitted an English essay about the story. I edited her English then added my comments at the end of her essay.

Student's Essay:

Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, two pandas given by the Chinese government as present to Taiwan (promised in 2005) arrived Mu-Zha zoo on Dec 22, 2008. The Giant Panda, literally "cat-foot black-and-white") is a bear native to central-western and southwestern China. The Giant Panda is an endangered species and the lives of pandas are highly threatened. Loans of Giant Pandas to the American and Japanese zoos were important parts of Chinese diplomacy in the past, as it signified the first cultural exchanges between China and the West. Such a diplomacy has been called the "Panda Diplomacy". The pandas' names, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, when put together, mean "reunion" in Chinese, and the move is seen as a thawing in relations between Taiwan and China. The scientific name of panda in Chinese sometimes confused people. President Ma point out panda should call 貓熊 but not 熊貓, because it is a bear not a feline. The confusing name in Chinese is because of the way the Chinese language was read. It was read from left to right but now it is read from right to left.

Dr. Chen’s comments

While the ‘Panda Diplomacy’ between China and the U.S. and between China and Japan was a welcoming sign for the U.S. and Japan to improve their relationships to China, the ‘panda present’ has put Taiwanese of conscious into shame. The present was not presented as ‘nation-to-nation’ gift but as an “internal exchange” between two Chinese 'provinces'. Additionally, during the trip of these two pandas from the Taipei airport to the Taipei zoo, all the national flags of Taiwan government along the way were ‘mysteriously’ removed. Taiwan government officials agree to Chinese technicians working for panda transportation not to see any national flags that represent Taiwan as a sovereign country. What a shameful exchange this is for the Taiwanese to 'accept' this 'present' from China.

If we can remember how the Dutch bought the Manhattan Island (in New York City) from the American Indians with only 25 Dutch dollars in the 16th century, you can appreciate how good the deal is for the Chinese. Shamefully, some Taiwanese are working on behalf of the Chinese government to complete the deal.