In early November, the three pandas at the "Washington Zoo" in the United States returned to the "embrace of the motherland" because their lease expired ! Will pandas from all over the world eventually be returned to China? Today, let us talk about China’s “Panda Diplomacy”! Hiho, hello everyone, my name is Zhiqi! Should this cute animal be called "Panda" or "Cat Panda"? There is a group of people who believe that because it is essentially a "bear", it should be called "cat panda". However, in its home country, it is generally called "giant panda" , and our Ministry of Education dictionary says "both can be used." So today This episode is based on the habits of most people, we will call them "pandas" . So, in the past few decades, China has "lent" many pandas out. But in recent years, those pandas have returned to the motherland . Taking the United States as an example, it is estimated that After next year, there will no longer be pandas in zoos across the United States ! Many diplomatic experts believe that one can judge whether a country's relationship with China is good or bad just by looking at whether it has pandas. Is this true or false? Why are pandas so important? So how did this “panda diplomacy” begin? Should it be delivered or rented? How much does it cost to rent for a year? Later, countries started to "return pandas" one after another. Is it really because they hate China? Before starting today’s “Panda Discussion”, let’s start with some business service time [How did “Panda Diplomacy” start? 】 Pandas are regarded as "national treasures" in China, so for them, "sending pandas" to other countries can almost be said to have a symbolic meaning of "now we are friends" or "I want to make friends with you" in China After the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, the CCP worked hard to seize the status of orthodox China and move closer to the world powers. In the 1950s , they sent the first "Panda" to the Soviet Union. In 1972, "Nickerson" became the first U.S. president to visit China . When I visited the zoo, I seemed to like pandas. Later, China sent two giant pandas directly to the United States at a dinner. It was also in 1972 that Japanese Prime Minister "Tanaka Kakuei" decided to break off diplomatic relations with the Republic of China and establish diplomatic relations with China. The next month after China and Japan established diplomatic relations. China also sent a pair of pandas "Kangkang and Lanlan" to Japan . At that time, Kangkang and Lanlan caused a sensation in Japan that even China probably did not expect [Everyone loves giant pandas! 】 On the morning when Kangkang and Lanlan arrived at Ueno Zoo in Japan, there were more than 20,000 people queuing for a full kilometer in the park. They were all making the pilgrimage to get a first look at these two black and white animals. It is said that because there were too many tourists, everyone was worried. There were only a few seconds to see the pandas. The whole zoo was filled with urging sounds , and panda Lan Lan almost fainted because she was so anxious in facing too many people at once ! Needless to say, these two pandas immediately became a popular IP. Within 3 months after their arrival at the zoo, panda-related peripherals sold an insane amount of more than 10 billion yen. To say why people love pandas so much is simply because they exude They have a "soft and harmless" aura, a lovable appearance, a gentle and friendly personality, and are rare. Just watching their slow movements seems to heal your life for a short time. This experience has made China know that "Pandas" "The charm is simply unmatched. So later, China followed the same pattern and successfully relied on pandas to get closer to North Korea and many European countries [Animal protection awareness almost blocked panda diplomacy?" ] In the 1980s, awareness of animal protection gradually rose. More and more people inside and outside China realized that "the panda is an endangered animal" and should be well protected. So China had an idea. Since it is so precious and so effective , I might as well "commercialize it." " If you use the "leasing" method to send it abroad , wouldn't you be able to make a fortune and be able to do diplomacy?" Therefore, since 1994, China has been leasing pandas to other countries on a long-term basis "in the name of joint breeding of wild and endangered animals." The lease is for 10 years and the annual rent is US$1 million . After the lease expires, the pandas have to be returned to China . Each time the contract can be renewed , China will rent out a "pair" of one male and one female pandas so that the zoos in the leasing country can work together to "breed the next generation of pandas" [How expensive is it to rent pandas? 】 Just mentioned, renting a pair of pandas costs 1 million US dollars per year. After they are successfully bred abroad, the local zoo will have to pay China a one-time fee of 400,000 to 600,000 US dollars , and then continue to pay another 600,000 US dollars every year. Yes, the rent is RMB yuan until the panda cubs are sent back to China . Panda cubs born abroad are still "Chinese nationality" and belong to "Chinese property." They must "go home" when they turn 4 years old . Therefore, even if the payment at the time of birth is deducted, Cost If there are babies, the zoo will have to pay at least 2.6 million US dollars in rent to China every year . In addition to the rent, the cost for the zoo is to build an entire park suitable for pandas to live and hire professional conservationists. If the local breed cannot be grown, Bamboo must also be purchased from China and shipped by air. According to statistics, a total of 17 countries have leased 54 pandas to China by 2022. "Travel abroad to make money." Every year, they earn nearly 500 million U.S. dollars for China . Each panda has earned at least tens of millions of dollars for China before returning from abroad ! But even so, for zoos in various countries, renting a pair of pandas to take home can be regarded as a business that is sure to make a profit [Zoo: If you make a lot of money, you will make a lot of money! 】 For example, the Edinburgh Zoo in the UK was about to go bankrupt, but after the arrival of two pandas "Sunshine and Tiantian" in 2011, the number of visitors to Edinburgh's animals surged fourfold, allowing them to escape from danger. "Tiantian" was even reported by the BBC Selected as one of the "Women of the Year 2011", Australia's Adelaide Zoo also saw a 70% increase in the number of visitors after pandas arrived. Official estimates indicate that in the ten years since pandas have been living in Australia, they will bring in at least 600 million Australian dollars, which is approximately 4.8 The economic benefit of 100 million U.S. dollars. As for the Japan I just mentioned, it has also made double the profit. The giant panda "Yongming" at "Adventure World" in Wakayama has lived in Japan for nearly 30 years and has given birth to more than 10 pandas. Every naming meeting is an unprecedented event. And "Xiang Xiang", who was born in Ueno Zoo in 2017, is even more popular. The economic benefits brought by the six years from birth to "due to the delay in returning to China due to the epidemic" were as high as 60 to 65 billion yen. But China's "panda diplomacy" is the most successful. In addition to making everyone make a lot of money, there are other benefits [China: Diplomacy is a great success! 】 The huge rent has given China an extra amount of money that can be used to conserve pandas. Since 2006, pandas have also successfully escaped from the "endangered" category. The global number has only increased from early 1,000 to about 2,000 . But for the Chinese government, the pandas have brought "Economic and trade contracts" may also not be ignored In 2013, the BBC tracked and reported that many major trade cooperation between China and the outside world happened "just in time" after panda diplomacy. For example, in 2011, after the Edinburgh Zoo got the pandas , China and Scotland signed agreements on salmon renewable energy, automobile trade, etc. The price is as high as 2.6 billion pounds . Or maybe France signed a contract with China to "provide uranium resources" after acquiring the pandas . Experts explain that China will increasingly use "leasing pandas" as a reward as long as you are willing to cooperate. , just give pandas. On the contrary, if any country is disobedient, China will not "renew the panda contract" for you. However, fast forward 10 years from the report in 2013 to now, panda diplomacy seems to have encountered a new bottleneck [No one wants pandas] Already? 】 In just one month at the beginning of 2023 , zoos in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan have successively taken the initiative to return pandas whose "leases have expired." These pandas include "Sunshine and Sweetness" who just talked about saving the Edinburgh Zoo, and Japanese superstars such as "Sun Life and His Children" and even Finland and Malaysia are eager to return the pandas before the lease has expired . According to the official statement, the main reason for this is that the number of tourists has dropped sharply in the past two years due to the epidemic . The huge cost gradually emerged , and the zoo was overwhelmed and could not care about the "friendship" with China . However, many Chinese netizens also believed that "it is better to send it back than to suffer abroad." There was also a saying on the Internet that "our country no longer needs to Some experts also believe that panda diplomacy is more symbolic after all and may gradually go into history . At this point, some people may be curious about Yuanyuan, Yuanzai, and Yuanzi in Taiwan. Will Yuan Bao be returned to China one day? [Extra: The history of Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan’s arrival in Taiwan] Let’s start with the conclusion: How did Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan come to Taiwan without having to worry about it in the first place? Since 1988, the Taipei Municipal Zoo has been actively applying to the Council of Agriculture to import giant pandas from China. However, the Council of Agriculture rejected the decision many times due to environmental and political considerations . In 2005, after Lian Zhan visited China, the National Taiwan They said : Only "outsiders" have to spend money to rent pandas. Taiwan is "one of our own", so I will use the gifts directly and you don't have to return them! That sounds pretty good, right? But from another perspective, once we accept pandas, it is equivalent to accepting that "Taiwan is part of China" to a certain extent. Therefore , pandas have been stuck in this debate of "dwarfing sovereignty" for more than 2 years. I didn’t come to Taiwan until 2008 , when the Ma Ying-jeou government took office. I came to Taiwan in the name of "cross-strait donation of protected animals" [Our point of view] Before entering the point of view, we would like to thank everyone for watching the video here and there. I would also like to express my special thanks to all the members of Zhiqi Qiqi. With your support and sponsorship, we can continue to operate this channel and study various issues with you . Thank you very much! If you are willing to support us to go further, you are welcome to click the "Join" button on the channel homepage to become our member , or you can also support us with a small amount of "Super Thank You" . Having said that, in a way, Taiwan getting pandas looks really good. Compared with others, we now save 2 million US dollars every year. The zoo makes a lot of money, and the successful breeding of two red pandas is an amazing conservation achievement . People can see cute pandas without having to return to the motherland . But this "panda does not need to return to the motherland." "The preferential treatment may be due to the fact that "we were "returned" to the motherland." Some Chinese scholars once said that the panda's cute and harmless image allows it to "play a role that human diplomatic envoys cannot." Because China always hopes to become a powerful "wolf warrior", but it is easy to disgust people, so the cute panda can downplay the aggression and reduce people's vigilance . After all, I believe it will be difficult for everyone to connect when looking at these cute fur balls. When you think of "China", "Xi Jinping" or "Cross-Strait situation" , cute pandas are just pandas. However, the contradictory feeling that "cute pandas" and "cruel politics" are always tied together is not only felt by Taiwanese in recent years, although Everyone has received a lot of healing or emotional support from pandas . However, the antipathy towards Chinese officials from governments or people of various countries, including the United States and Japan, continues to increase . Could this also mean that China's "panda diplomacy" strategy is no longer what it is? Was it so effective before? Having said that, in April this year, when there were rumors that China wanted to send pandas to Taiwan as gifts , Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan responded, "This is a good thing for exchanges between cities and for zoos." So, today's question is Let me ask you, what do you think when China "shows goodwill" again and says it will send us another pair of giant pandas ? Finally, if you like today’s video, please share it to let more people know “How to do Panda Diplomacy”! In addition, you can also click here to read "How China's Wolf Warrior Diplomacy Fights" and "China's One Belt, One Road, What Happened?" So, today’s Zhiqi Qiqi comes to an end here. See you tomorrow night!
