China and Taiwan's 'Symbol of Reconciliation' Panda Euthanized at Taiwan Zoo

18-Year-Old Tuan Tuan Dies After Anesthesia Due to Malignant Brain Tumor
Male of the Panda Pair Gifted by China to Taiwan in 2008

Thun Thun during cancer treatment. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The panda 'Tuan Tuan (團團)', a symbol of reconciliation between China and Taiwan, died on the 19th at the Taipei Zoo in Taiwan.

According to a report by Taiwan Central News Agency on the 19th, Tuan Tuan, who showed seizure symptoms from early morning that day, experienced a rapid deterioration in health despite medication by medical staff, with seizure intervals becoming shorter and an inability to eat. Consequently, the medical team determined that Tuan Tuan could not recover and administered anesthesia, and Tuan Tuan passed away around 1:48 PM.

Tuan Tuan, who was 18 years old this year, had shown signs of poor health since August. Subsequent examinations revealed necrosis in the brain, leading to a diagnosis suspecting malignant brain tumor. Because of this, movements slowed down and eating was done while lying down, indicating severe health decline. Generally, pandas are known to live about 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in zoos, with the longest-lived panda in a zoo being a female named Jia Jia in Hong Kong, who lived to 38 years old.

The male Tuan Tuan, along with the female Yuan Yuan (圓圓), was called a symbol of cross-strait (兩岸, China and Taiwan) reconciliation. In April 2005, then Chinese President Hu Jintao held the first Kuomintang-Communist Party meeting since the cross-strait split with Lien Chan, chairman of Taiwan's Kuomintang, and expressed his intention to gift a pair of pandas. However, due to opposition from Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party at the time, the plan was not immediately realized. After more than three and a half years, in December 2008, when the pro-China Ma Ying-jeou took office in Taiwan, the two pandas were finally able to set foot in Taiwan. The combined name 'Tuan Yuan (團圓)' means 'reunion after separation' in Chinese. This name was chosen through a vote by Chinese netizens in 2006, but the Democratic Progressive Party, which advocates for Taiwan independence, criticized it as a 'Chinese unification operation.' Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan each gave birth to one cub in 2013 and 2020, respectively. Yuan Yuan, who is the same age as Tuan Tuan, is reported to still be healthy.

Despite the recent very poor relations between China and Taiwan, last month Taiwan requested a visit from Chinese panda experts to save Tuan Tuan. The Taipei Zoo sent an official letter to Taiwan's Council of Agriculture asking for permission to allow Chinese experts to visit, and the Council actively supported the request. Subsequently, the Wolong Panda Conservation and Research Center in Sichuan Province, China, remotely analyzed videos of Tuan Tuan and discussed treatment methods with Taiwan, and on the 1st sent two experts to Taiwan to assist in Tuan Tuan's treatment. Both sides' experts believed Tuan Tuan would recover with treatment, but the condition suddenly worsened, leading to euthanasia.