Giant panda talks with Taiwan called 'wishful thinking'

A Chinese mainland spokesman on Wednesday dismissed remarks by a Japanese lawmaker about potential giant panda exchanges between Japanese zoos and the Taipei Zoo in Taiwan.

Calling the comments "nothing but wishful thinking," Peng Qing'en, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said any attempt by "Taiwan independence" separatist forces to use giant pandas to curry favor with Japan would inevitably provoke anger among people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Peng's remarks came after Norihiro Uehata, a Kobe city council member, posted on social media that giant pandas at the Taipei Zoo — which he said were a gift from the Chinese mainland — could be involved in exchange discussions with Japanese zoos.

The last pair of giant pandas in Japan, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, are scheduled to return to China in late January 2026, when the current cooperation agreement between China and Japan expires.

The Taipei Zoo currently has three giant pandas, all female.

Peng said the giant pandas presented to Taiwan in 2008 were a gift from mainland to Taiwan compatriots and symbolized an important achievement in the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

"As a national treasure, the giant panda deserves to be cherished jointly by compatriots on both sides of the Strait," he said.

Peng also expressed firm opposition to the recent visit to Taiwan by Koichi Hagiuda, acting secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party. He urged Japan to learn from history, strictly adhere to the one-China principle, uphold the spirit of the four Sino-Japanese political documents, and stop making erroneous statements and taking inappropriate actions on Taiwan-related issues.

He warned that attempts by the Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Taiwan to collude with external forces to pursue "independence" are doomed to fail.