Source: Xinhua News Agency
Taipei, 20 Nov (Xinhua) -- At 13:48 on 19 November, the mainland giant panda "Tuantuan," who was suffering from brain disease, stopped his heartbeat in his sleep under anesthesia. The "Tuantuan" who came to Taiwan at the age of 4 was frozen at the age of 18.
When the news came out, compatriots on both sides of the strait lamented it endlessly and expressed their condolences and memories of the "tuantuan" in different ways. "'Tuantuan' is not afraid, no pain, go well, thank you for bringing us so many good memories over the years..." "'Tuantuan' go well, thank you for accompanying compatriots on both sides of the strait for so many years..."
In August this year, Taipei Zoo celebrated the 18th birthday of "Tuantuan". In the live video released by the garden, "Tuan Tuan" enjoyed a single-layer square cake, chewed it slowly for a while before flipping it over, picking up the sugar cane that served as a candle on it and eating it. Hanmeng's appearance amused many Taiwanese people who watched birthday celebrations online.
Soon after, the news came out that "Tuan Tuan" was ill. According to the Taipei Zoo, in late August, "Tuantuan" suddenly developed symptoms of epilepsy and foaming at the mouth, and was sent to the National Taiwan University Affiliated Animal Hospital for examination on September 18, and was found to have cerebral edema and necrosis. On October 16, "Tuan Tuan" began to show symptoms of weakness in hind limbs and decreased appetite, and the amount of food, bowel movements and activity was even less than half of what it used to be. The "tuantuan", who used to sit and eat, was so weak that he could only lie down and eat.
The news of the illness of "Tuantuan" touched the hearts of compatriots on both sides of the strait. Netizens on both sides of the strait continue to pray for the "tuantuan" on the Internet. The six message boards specially set up by Taipei Zoo for "Tuantuan" were plastered with blessings in just three weeks, pinning every word on the blessings of the Taiwanese people hoping that "Tuantuan" would overcome the disease and recover soon. At the end of September, the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center set up an expert group to maintain online communication with Taipei Zoo, and was invited to send two experts to Taiwan to assist in diagnosis and nursing.
Since then, there was good news that the condition was stable. However, since November 17, "Tuantuan" has had frequent seizures, several times a day, and three consecutive seizures in the early morning of the 19th. Taipei Zoo said that after a comprehensive assessment of factors such as the frequency of seizures of "Tuantuan", the difficulty of controlling medication, the deterioration of clinical blood test indicators, and the inability to eat and live normally after waking up, the medical team decided to let go out of the pain out of animal welfare considerations, and let "Tuantuan" leave this world in a sleep of anesthesia.
"'Tuan Tuan' is a very well-behaved giant panda, and he also obediently cooperated with treatment during illness." Recalling the moments of "Tuantuan"'s life, Chen Yuyan, director of the Taipei Zoo Giant Panda Museum, couldn't help but cry, "Let's try to let it live its last days happily."
In May 2005, the mainland announced that mainland compatriots would present Taiwan compatriots with a pair of giant pandas symbolizing peace, unity and fraternity. At the Spring Festival Gala in 2006, after the votes of compatriots on both sides of the strait and overseas Chinese, the pair of giant pandas were named "Tuantuan" and "Yuanyuan". On December 23, 2008, "Tuantuan" and "Yuanyuan" crossed the strait and settled in Taiwan, and met with the Taiwanese people for the first time on the first day of the Lunar New Year the following year. Taiwan compatriots gave back a pair of sika deer "Fanxing" and "Diandian" and a pair of long-maned goats "Pleasant Goat" and "Le Sheep" to mainland compatriots, and settled in Weihai, Shandong Province in April 2011.
The arrival of the two giant pandas set off a "panda fever" on the island, attracting more than 18,000 people to see the "face" on the first day of their official debut, becoming the "stars" of Taipei Zoo. According to Taipei Zoo statistics, in 2009, when "Tuantuan" and "Yuanyuan" debuted, the zoo set a record of 3.6 million visitors. This record was not broken until the birth of their cub, the Round Cub.
Due to the rounded body of "Tuantuan", the garden has tried to add 3 sit-ups a day to the training menu, and designed many behavior-enriching toys to let "Tuantuan" climb more trees. "Tuan Tuan" also became the world's first giant panda to wear braces because of a broken upper left canine tooth in 2018.
In the eyes of Wang Yimin, the head of the animal group at Taipei Zoo, "Tuantuan" is like a cute big boy, shy and not very confident, but a "warm man", more gentle than "Yuanyuan".
"There are many people in our museum who call themselves 'group sisters' and especially like 'tuan tuan' because of its 12% trust in people. We treated it medically, and it would feel uncomfortable, but the next day it would forget that it would still be as close as we were. Wang Yimin said.
In 2013, "Yuanyuan" gave birth to his first cub in Taiwan, named "Yuanzai". 7 years later, "Yuanyuan" gave birth to the second child, "Yuanbao". This happy little family is deeply loved by the Taiwanese people and has become a childhood memory for a generation.
Netizen "Brian Chan" recalled that he often watched the live broadcast program "Watch Yuanzai Every Day", and the "Tuantuan" he saw in the video "always sat quietly eating bamboo, like a good bear..."
Netizen "Li Siyu" said: "'Tuantuan' has gone all the way. It doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you for coming to Taiwan, my child grew up watching you. ”
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Fourteen years ago, the giant panda "Tuantuan" and "Yuanyuan" went to Taiwan to settle down, which is an important symbol of the peaceful development of cross-strait relations. They have brought countless joys and good memories to Taiwan compatriots. Regarding the unfortunate death of "Tuantuan", Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that we are saddened and regretted by the death of "Tuantuan". We thank the professional teams on both sides of the strait, Taipei Zoo and relevant parties for their efforts in rescuing the "tuantuan", and hope that relevant parties on both sides of the strait will continue to do a good job in exchanges and cooperation in the protection of giant pandas. She said that as a "national treasure," giant pandas should be cherished by compatriots on both sides of the strait. The people-to-people ties and benign interaction on both sides of the strait should be jointly cherished and safeguarded.
For mainland journalists stationed in Taiwan to report, the Taipei Zoo Giant Panda House is a place where they must "check in" every time they go to Taiwan. Looking at the lovely "reunion" family, just like the mother's family visiting relatives, full of love and blessings. This year, due to the epidemic and the condition of "Tuantuan", I didn't have time to see the "Tuantuan" side.
At the end of the gathering, I would like to thank the "tuantuan" for the common good memories left by compatriots on both sides of the strait.