Tian Tian, the male giant panda in Washington, is to spend another five years on loan to the US from China.
Tian Tian, the male giant panda in Washington, is to spend another five years on loan to the US from China.

Why panda diplomacy is cute but ethically questionable



Some unlikely Chinese ambassadors arrived in Britain last month. They gobble more than Dh400,000 a year in food alone but do nothing more than sit around napping. These new representatives are not human, however - they are two giant pandas called Tian Tian and Yang Guan, lent (at a price) to Edinburgh Zoo for 10 years.

The pair are just the most recent example of China's reinforcing its international relationships with loans of this engaging species to foreign zoos.

Although the bears are supposed to stay with their foreign hosts for a decade, there's no guarantee they will do so if they fail to breed. The Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, whose expiring 10-year deal on Tian Tian (same name, different panda) and Mei Xiang has just been extended to 2015, said last week that it wanted to swap Mei Xiang for another female with a better chance of producing cubs.

So far, no giant panda has made it to the UAE, but with relations with China getting ever closer, it may only be a matter of time before a couple of the animals find their own specially cooled enclosure at Al Ain Zoo.

But while China's policy of lending pandas to friendly nations - dubbed "panda diplomacy" - is popular with zoo-goers, many wildlife conservation organisations express concern at the practice, suggesting both that it damages the bears' welfare and that it distracts from neglect elsewhere. So are these cuddly-looking ambassadors a bad thing, or are objections simply a case of looking a gift bear in the mouth?

The policy may be controversial, but it's hardly new, with a tradition of panda gifts dating back to China's early-mediaeval Tang dynasty. It was in 685 that the otherwise terrifying empress Wu Zetian sent a pair of bears to soften up her Japanese counterpart. Over the past 100 years, however, Beijing's dispatch of ursine ambassadors has risen exponentially, the most famous being Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, two pandas given to the US by China to commemorate the two countries' easing relations following President Richard Nixon's visit in 1972.

So phenomenally popular were those bears that more than one million visitors saw them in the Washington zoo in their first year in residence.

Since 1984, Chinese panda diplomacy has become a more short-term game - instead of giving the bears away, the Chinese now lend them (like the Edinburgh and Washington pairs) for a decade. While this means the bears clock up a considerable number of air miles over their lifetimes (typically 20 years but as much as 30 in captivity), it still gives their host zoos a massive publicity boost, and offers them the hope of breeding their own cubs to keep.

The political uses of globe-trotting pandas remain as strong as ever, with loans such as the pandas China sent to Taiwan in 2008 a clear attempt to sweeten relations with the island. So controversial was the idea of Taiwan accepting the bears from a state it perceives as aggressive that the Beijing government's Taiwanese opponents have urged their supporters not to visit the bears, whose names (Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan) placed together provocatively form the Mandarin word tuanyuan or "reunion", a reference to the Chinese desire for an end to Taiwanese independence.

Such political gesturing does no one any great harm, but some conservationists fear China's desire to foster good international relations pushes the pandas' welfare into second place. Libby Anderson, of the animal-protection charity OneKind, says: "No matter how high the quality of their new enclosure, no matter how excellent the viewing and monitoring facilities, the pandas inside will still be denied the ability to roam free, to forage and feed as they like, to avoid or associate with companions, and to follow their instincts in selecting a mate."

Other groups have pointed to China's poor record in protecting other species. While pandas have become a cherished symbol of national identity, the country's wildlife is often in a desperate state, threatened by development and poaching, and suffering from a lack of consistent government protection.

The British campaign group Tiger Time has pointed out that China's recent panda loans should not blind the public to China's poor record in protecting equally threatened tigers.

Peter Carroll, Tiger Time's campaign manager, says: "Giving away pandas gives China huge political kudos, but while they are good at symbolic stuff, they are at the same time failing to take basic steps to protect other species. There are now only 3,200 wild tigers left - you could fit every one of them on a soccer pitch. China allows a licensed trade in tiger skins and allows tigers to be farmed on an industrial scale. To let this go on while gaining positive publicity from pandas seems hypocritical."

Such concerns can't be dismissed, but they do point to one potentially positive outcome of panda diplomacy: the extra scrutiny of China's wildlife protection generated by the pandas might well push the Beijing government towards greater efforts in conservation.

Envoys from the wild side

The panda is not the only creature to have been pressed into diplomatic service. Elephants have long been popular gifts between statesmen - the affection the 16th-century Pope Leo X had for his elephant Hanno (a gift from Portugal) did not stop the poor creature dying at the age of six.

In Renaissance Florence, Lorenzo "il Magnifico" de' Medici would have appeared even more magnificent with the arrival of a giraffe sent to him by the Egyptian sultan.

Hernan Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, tried to cover up the shortcomings of his blundering in America by sending countless unlucky ocelots, monkeys, parakeets and jaguars across the Atlantic as exciting gifts to the Spanish Court.

While animal welfare is a greater priority nowadays - the pandas currently on loan from the Chinese to Australia's Adelaide Zoo are even cooled by their own specially refrigerated rocks - the animal-giving habit is still strong, with the Chinese themselves sometimes on the receiving end. In 2009, the Seychelles sent a species even rarer than the giant panda - a pair of Aldabra giant tortoises - to live permanently in Shanghai Zoo.

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Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Results

United States beat UAE by three wickets

United States beat Scotland by 35 runs

UAE v Scotland – no result

United States beat UAE by 98 runs

Scotland beat United States by four wickets

Fixtures

Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland

Admission is free

Know before you go
  • Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
  • If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
  • By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
  • Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
  • Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

 

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Company%20Profile
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Turkish Ladies

Various artists, Sony Music Turkey 

Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford

The specs

Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel

Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry

Power: 1877bhp

Torque: 2300Nm

Price: Dh7,500,00

On sale: Now

 

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

In%20the%20Land%20of%20Saints%20and%20Sinners
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Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
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ARGYLLE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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Pathaan
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S

Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900

Engine: 937cc

Transmission: Six-speed gearbox

Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm

Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km

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Everton%20Fixtures
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How to help

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
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Get inspired

Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).

Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.  

Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?). 

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
 
  • Grade 9 = above an A*
  • Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
  • Grade 7 = grade A
  • Grade 6 = just above a grade B
  • Grade 5 = between grades B and C
  • Grade 4 = grade C
  • Grade 3 = between grades D and E
  • Grade 2 = between grades E and F
  • Grade 1 = between grades F and G
RESULTS
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How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying