A pair of pandas donated by China to Taiwan made their debut at Taipei City Zoo following an opening event by Taiwanese President Ma Ying Jiu on January 24th.
The pandas, named Tuan-Tuan and Yuan-Yuan (Tuan-Yuan means Reunion in Chinese), arrived in Taiwan in late December 2008 and underwent a month long quarantine before being officially introduced to the public. A group of 500 orphans and underprivileged kids were the first group of visitors.
The panda diplomacy is seen as a huge leap of relationship between the two political entities. China first suggested the donation in 2005 but was rejected by Taiwan’s leadership back then, but the idea was embraced in 2008 with the change of Taiwanese presidency.