Taipei, Jan. 4 (CNA) China is expected to announce on Jan. 6 which two lucky pandas have been chosen to make the goodwill journey to their new home in Taiwan; however, Taiwan is still sitting the fence on whether to accept the two "cat-bears," as they are called in Chinese.
The ROC government on Taiwan has been cautiously optimistic about the offer made to Lien Chan while he was on a visit to China last year in his capacity of chairman of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) .Lien has since retired from the post, but retains a titular title of honorary chairman.
The China Giant Panda Research Center in Wolong in Sichuan province has whittled down the candidates from 11 -- six males and five females -- and decided on two that have passed numerous tests for their hardiness as well as their sexual compatibility, vis-a-vis their DNA.
The DNA test is considered essential to avoid inbreeding.
This is not the first time that China has offered to donate pandas to Taiwan, but each time the offer has been turned down. This time around, Taiwan seems more inclined to give the offer serious consideration.
Politics aside, should the pandas come to Taiwan, people would most certainly flock to see them in much the same way that people in the country came down with "koala fever" when two of the lethargic animals were first brought over from Australia in 1999.
Like people in the U.S., Japan, Russia and France, countries which have received the "ultimate gift" from China, it would be hard for Taiwanese not to fall for the ultimate in cute: cuddly, clumsy,bamboo-munching pandas.
PANDA DIPLOMACY
Taiwan is the latest in line to be offered pandas by China as ademonstration of goodwill. The term "Panda Diplomacy" was created by Western political observers after China started donating pandas to different countries in 1957.
One of the most famous examples was in 1972, when Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Tse-tung presented two pandas --Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling -- to U.S. President Richard Nixon. Two years later, U.K. Prime Minister Edward Heath came home from China with two pandas, Ching-Ching and Chia-Chia.
From 1957 to 1982, a total of 23 pandas were sent by China to nine different countries. The endangered species was widely seen as the best "weapon" for China to break the ice and create a friendly atmosphere during the Cold War.
INTERNATIONAL LOAN OR DOMESTIC TRANSFER?
China brought up the idea again of sending a pair of China's"most famous ambassadors" to Taiwan during a visit to Beijing in May, 2005 by former KMT Chairman Lien Chan.
The topic soon became a jousting field for Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition. Animal welfare groups also are playing a role in the drama, arguing that transferring pandas between countries is dangerous and a risk to their welfare.
Under the regulations of agreement from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, pandas can only be on loan from China to other countries and all the financial benefits from the exhibition of giant pandas, after deducting the costs incurred, should be used for the conservation of the species in China. The conservation fee every country has to pay China is up to US$1 million a year.
Taiwan authorities have reiterated that the transfer of pandas, if approved, should be seen as an international loan, not a domestic transfer as China claims since it views Taiwan as a breakaway province.
MAKE IT SIMPLE
"It's not realistic to look at it [accepting the pandas] as a move by China to downgrade [Taiwan], " said Chang Wu-yueh, associate professor at the Graduate Institute of China Studies, Tamkang University.
"China has used pandas as a 'political tool' to win friendships from different countries. But I don't think this is a 'PandaDiplomacy' strategy, " he said. "Moreover, Taiwanese are smart enough to tell the good from the bad. People think pandas are cute, but they're also aware that China has more than 700 ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan and keeps suppressing Taiwan in the international community.
"As long as [the transfer of the] pandas conforms to international regulations and we don't interpret them as a gift from'the central government to a local government, ' I don't see why wecan't accept them, " Chang asserted.
Chin Hen-wei, editor in chief of Contemporary magazine and a political analyst, has different thoughts. "China wants to send us pandas because it knows 'pandas sell.' This is only being done to curry favor with the people of Taiwan while at the same time downgrading the government on Taiwan, " he said.
"I don't think our government will accept this 'political animal'as long as the DPP is in power. And last I checked, people who support accepting the pandas are all from opposition parties. That's interesting, wouldn't you say?" Chin said.