Bear-faced greed?
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Japan prepares to receive a pair of giant pandas from China today, in a move that some animal rights campaigners say is nothing more than pure commercialism disguised as research.
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Panda latte is offered at a restaurant in Tokyo. [Global Times] |
![Panda latte is offered at a restaurant in Tokyo. [Global Times]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20110221/0014222d98500ecc6d5c04.jpg "Panda latte is offered at a restaurant in Tokyo. [Global Times]")
The Chinese panda couple, Bili (male) and Xiannü (female) who are both five years old, are scheduled to fly under tight protection from Chengdu, Southwest China, where they were born and raised, to Tokyo Monday, China News Service reported.
The Tokyo government has been gearing up for the pandas' arrival since last year by collecting public opinions on what they should be named, receiving more than 40,000 proposals within one month.
Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara has also weighed in, saying he hopes the arrival of the pandas will ease some Japanese people's negative feelings toward the Chinese, which were exacerbated after severe disputes between the two countries over the Diaoyu Islands late last year. However, animal activists still question whether the pandas would be used for commercial purposes.
Economic gains
The use of pandas for commercial gain officially ceased in 1996, when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora was signed.
The Guangzhou-based Southern Weekend reported that under the treaty, wild pandas should not be rented out for commercial purposes, but added that many zoos in other countries and regions use the pandas to attract visitors instead of protecting them.
Indeed, the arrival of the two pandas is expected to turn around declining visitor numbers at Ueno Zoo and boost the local economy after the death of their predecessor Lingling.
"The economic benefits that the new pandas bring to Ueno will easily hit 10 billion Japanese yen ($120 million)," said Chino Masahiro, director of the Affairs Bureau at the Ueno Panda Welcome Executive Committee.
China also stands to gain from the deal, according to the Southern Weekend. Under an agreement signed by the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) and Tokyo Metropolitan Government in July last year, Japan will pay China $9.5 million in total for having the two pandas over the next 10 years.
Zhang Hemin, director of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, refuses to call it a "rental fee."
"The cooperation between us and the Japanese zoo is long-term scientific research, and the funds Japan offered can be considered a donation to support the research program," Zhang told the newspaper.
The State Forestry Administration promises to use 60 percent of the funds received for wild panda protection and 40 percent for research on pandas raised in captivity.
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