Symbol of reunion between China and Taipei, panda Tuan Tuan, dies

Giant panda Tuan Tuan, who was gifted to Taiwan by China in 2008. Pic/AFP

Tuan Tuan, one of two giant pandas gifted to Taiwan from China, died on Saturday after a brief illness, the Taipei Zoo said. No cause of death was immediately given, but earlier reports said the panda was believed to have a malignant brain tumour, prompting China to send a pair of experts to Taiwan earlier this month to help with his treatment.

Tuan Tuan did not respond and after a series of seizures on Saturday, he was placed in an induced coma, according to Taiwanese news reports. Tuan Tuan and his mate, Yuan Yuan, were gifted to the zoo in 2008 during a time of warming relations between China and Taiwan, which split amid civil war in 1949. Both were born in China in 2004 and succeeded in having a pair of cubs in Taiwan.

The average life span for pandas in the wild is 15-20 years, while they can live for 30 years or more under human care. Ties between Beijing and Taipei have declined sharply in the year's since the pair's arrival, with China cutting off contacts in 2016 following the election of independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen, who was reelected in 2020.

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