China's giant panda Lumi on loan to a zoo in Finland.

(Reuters file photo) (Photographed by reporter Guan Shuping)

[Compiled by Guan Shuping/Comprehensive Report] The Chinese government has been doing "panda diplomacy" by donating or leasing giant pandas to foreign countries for a long time, hoping to promote friendly relations.

However, the cost of raising giant pandas is high, and Finland is considering sending the two giant pandas back to China because the cost of raising two giant pandas leased from China is too high, causing public dissatisfaction.

"Bloomberg" and "Reuters" reported on the 27th and 28th, according to the Ahtari Zoo (Ahtari zoo) that currently raises the two giant pandas Lumi (Chinese name "Jin Baobao") and Pyry (Chinese name "Huabao") ), Lumi and Pyry may have had to be sent back to their homeland in China before the 15-year lease expired because the zoo was unable to raise enough funds to keep them.

Please read on...

"Lumi" and "Pyry" were sent to Finland on lease in January 2018 after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Finland in 2017 and signed a joint agreement on animal protection.

The privately-run Ahtari Zoo originally hoped that the pair of giant pandas would attract tourists, but travel restrictions due to the Wuhan pneumonia (new coronavirus disease, COVID-19) epidemic have caused the zoo to become more and more in debt.

The park once asked the Ministry of Finance for help. The Ministry of Finance originally planned to allocate 5 million euros (about 160 million Taiwan dollars), but it was rejected after the public protested.

Several members of the Finnish parliament pointed out that 5 million euros is more than what Finland spends on conservation of some of its own native endangered species in a year.

The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that a working group has been set up to find a solution. The spokesperson said that if the two giant pandas are to be sent back to China, "we believe that China will understand that this is a business done by a private company that is experiencing financial difficulties. "We don't think this will have a broad impact on the relationship between Finland and China." Ahtari Zoo said that it will make a final decision on February 28 whether to return the giant panda in advance.

China loaned giant pandas Lumi and Pyry to Finland in 2018.

(Reuters file photo) (Photographed by reporter Guan Shuping)