Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan - Proposal of Gift and Political Resistance

Proposal of Gift and Political Resistance

The gift of the pandas was first proposed during the 2005 Pan-Blue visits to mainland China, when politicians from the then-Opposition Pan-Blue coalition, which is comparatively pro-unification in stance, visited mainland China. Chen Yunlin, then the head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, announced on May 3, 2005, that Beijing would present two giant pandas to Taipei as a gift.

The two pandas to be sent to Taiwan were chosen after 218 days of observation and discussion by experts from both mainland China and Taiwan, and were officially announced on January 6, 2006. The Chinese Wildlife Protection Society then began seeking nominations for the names to be given to the pair of pandas. These were announced on the eve of Chinese New Year, 2006 on the CCTV New Year's Gala live on national television. An opinion survey in Taiwan conducted by United Daily News in response to the gift proposal found 50% of respondents in favour of accepting the pandas, and 34% opposed.

However, the gift proposal soon met political resistance in Taiwan. On March 31, 2006, the Agricultural Committee of the Executive Yuan in Taiwan decided not to issue permits for the importation, ostensibly on the grounds that the zoos in Taiwan applying for the importation did not meet facility and resource requirements for the proper care and rearing of the pandas, and that importation would not be in the best interest of protecting pandas. However, commentators generally observed that political considerations underlay the technical decision, with the independence-leaning President Chen Shui-bian being opposed to what he saw as a propaganda move by Beijing.

In 2008, Ma Ying-jeou, of the Kuomintang, was elected President, and over the next few months has forged stronger economic and political relations with mainland China under his presidency, and was willing to accept them. The offering of pandas a gift from mainland China is often known as "panda diplomacy", and Taipei Zoo expects to draw around 30,000 visitors a day as a result of their arrival. The move was criticized by supporters of Taiwan's independence and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, who said that "Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan means a union, which perfectly matches Beijing's goal of bringing Taiwan into its fold."

Although Taiwan is not a CITES signatory and is therefore not obligated to report to the CITES Secretariat, the Secretariat of CITES said in response to the transfer that it viewed the transfer as an intrastate matter, and thus would be governed by whatever procedures and documentary requirements that are agreed upon by the Beijing and Taipei authorities. Both sides adopted procedures similar to standard CITES procedures for international transfers. On the import-export permits, the origin was listed as the Wolong Nature Reserve Management Office, while the destination was listed as the Taipei City Zoo.