A panda overcomes tension between China and Taiwan… What’s the story?

Taiwan has welcomed two Chinese experts to help a sick panda bear in a rare incident of communication between the two sides.

The two experts arrived on Tuesday after Tuan Tuan fell ill at the Taipei Zoo, who is suspected of having a malignant brain tumor.

Tuan Tuan and his companion Yuan Yuan were presented to the park in 2008 as a gift during the period of rapprochement between China and Taiwan, which split from the mainland amid a civil war in 1949.

Opinion polls usually show Taiwanese rejecting China’s demand for political union between the two sides, preferring the status quo of independence instead.

China sends panda abroad as a goodwill gesture, but retains ownership of the animals and any young born to them. The animals are native to southwest China and are an unofficial symbol of the state.

A scan of Tuan Tuan showed tumors growing on his brain, a sign of “rapid progression of the disease,” the zoo announced in a press release.

Zoo spokesman Eric Cao said the two sides are mobilizing their knowledge and experience to give Tuan Tuan “the best treatment and the best daily care.”

Chief veterinarian, Lai Yen-hsueh, said the two experts agreed to postpone surgery based on the panda likely reaction to anesthesia and the location of the affected area.

Experts Wu Honglin and Wei Ming have extensive experience working with panda reproductive health at a major panda research base in Wolong, Sichuan, China.

Panda Facts

• Pandas rarely mate in the wild and depend on a diet of bamboo.
• The panda remains one of the most endangered species in the world.
• It is estimated that 1,800 pandas live in the wild.
• Another 500 of them live in zoos or sanctuaries, most of them in Sichuan.