Taiwan, China, and the Tale of Panda Diplomacy

Good morning everyone! This week, let’s delve into a fascinating and endearing story involving Taiwan, China, and some very famous pandas.

It’s well-known that Taiwan and China have a complicated relationship. After the Chinese Civil War (1946-1949), the defeated Chinese Nationalists, who didn’t support Mao Zedong, went to Taiwan, also known as Nationalist China or Formosa. The people who immigrated to Taiwan were supporters of Western culture. To this day, China does not recognize Taiwan as a separate country. While breastfeeding, I heard a cute and heartwarming story that I just had to share. In 2008, China selected the cutest pandas and gave them as a gift to Taiwan. This practice is known as “panda diplomacy,” a tradition that dates back as far as the 7th century. You could meet these two pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, at the Taipei Zoo in Taiwan. They quickly became big celebrities and even became parents! Sadly, Tuan Tuan, the father panda, passed away, but you can still visit Mama Yuan Yuan and their children at the zoo.