Posted:2008-8-20|Source:internet|No. of Views:
Taipei zoo was approved to receive the couple, who are currently refugees from the Sichuan earthquake, a statement from Taiwan's forestry bureau said.
It was not clear when Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan - whose names taken together mean Unity - will head for the island, or if they will keep their controversial names once they arrive.
They were named after a competition on the mainland. Beijing wanted to ensure that the offer was interpreted as a sign that the island, currently self-governing though not recognised as an independent country by the United Nations, would one day be reunited with the "Motherland".
The Chinese government made the offer of the pandas three years ago, when relations between the two sides were at a low. President Chen Shui-bian, who favoured making Taiwan legally independent, was the number one hate figure for the Chinese leadership, who offered the pandas not just out of friendship but to use sentiment to speak above his head directly to the Taiwanese people.
He never rejected the offer outright, but it was made clear the pandas would not be accepted, with the island's semi-tropical climate one reason given.
A more significant but unspoken reason was the fact that China's last "panda gift" was to Hong Kong to mark its return by Britain in 1997.
The election of the nationalist Kuomintang candidate Ma Ying-jeou as president in March has seen a dramatic improvement in relations. Mr Ma has shown himself more willing to deal with Beijing, even to the extent of accepting its panda offer.
Taiwan zoo had already built a state-of-the-art panda home, with its own doctors and staff, in anticipation of the decision. Meanwhile, the happy couple themselves are living in the Sichuan town of Ya'an, having been rescued from the world-famous Wolong nature reserve and breeding centre where they were born and which was largely destroyed in the Sichuan earthquake in May.
"This is very positive news," said Lee Tao-sheng, the forestry bureau's deputy director general. "Our survey showed that over half the population wants to see the pandas."
