SHAFAQNA- After spending two decades on loan at the Memphis Zoo, Ya Ya, “friendship” panda returns home as a tool for Beijing’s unofficial diplomacy efforts, so-called “Panda diplomacy.”
Ya Ya “will return to China in the next few days,” Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday (25 Apr 2023), citing sources at the country’s National Forestry and Rangeland Administration. The decision came amid protests from animal rights groups and Panda Voices, who had called for her to be rehomed before her health worsened, RT reported.
It was also alleged that Memphis zookeepers were responsible for the death of Ya Ya’s wife, Li Li, in February. The animals’ defense said at the time that Lu Li’s death showed the zoo’s “absolute inability to properly care for giant pandas”.
However, the Memphis Zoo has strongly denied any allegations of mistreatment of any of the animals. It is also stated that Beijing has engaged in “panda diplomacy” since 1972, when it presented two animals to then-US President Richard Nixon. Currently, eighteen countries have pandas on loan from China as the only natural habitat of these animals.
Relations between Washington and Beijing remain tense over the situation in Taiwan and geopolitical expert Matthew Fraser says: “When China takes a panda back, it’s usually because the regime is very unhappy for some reason”.
Source: RT
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