Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 12 March, 2019
By: Paula Chao

China may offer Kaohsiung pandas. Should the city accept?

Pandas are back in the news here in Taiwan. That’s after a Chinese official suggested giving a pair of the animals to the southern city of Kaohsiung. The city has long been a bastion of independence-minded politics, but the recent election of Kuomintang (KMT) Mayor Han Kuo-yu has led to warmer ties with China.

Should the southern city of Kaohsiung welcome a gift of pandas? Although nothing is official, people are already weighing in on the issue. Some welcome the idea, but others worry about the cost and the political motivation of such a gift.

Taiwan is home to three pandas, all of whom live at the Taipei Zoo. Two were gifts given from China back in 2008. The third is the pair’s daughter, who turns six this year.

Now a member of China’s National People’s Congress is suggesting a gift of two pandas to the city of Kaohsiung.    [FULL  STORY]