Panda express: First pair of bears sent by Beijing in 21 years arrives in US

View In Browser June 28, 2024    Jessie Yeung, Manveena Suri and Fred He Panda express: First pair of bears sent by Beijing in 21 years arrives in US San Diego Zoo's newest giant pandas landed in California on Thursday, according to Chinese state media – marking the first time Beijing has granted new panda loans to the United States in two decades.   The two pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, left the Bifengxia base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province on Wednesday night, taking a chartered flight to their new home, according to state broadcaster CCTV.   After a short stopover in Hong Kong, they arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday morning, and will soon head to San Diego, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported.   The rare loan was finalized in February, just months after Chinese leader Xi Jinping suggested sending pandas to the San Diego Zoo as "envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples."   Xin Bao, a female born in July 2020, is a "gentle and well-behaved" panda, while Yun Chuan, a male born in July 2019, is "smart and lively," CCTV reported.   They were given a celebratory farewell at the Chinese base, attended by American and Chinese dignitaries, including performances and a gift exchange, according to a statement from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. To ensure their health and safety on the journey, their team prepared meals of fresh bamboo, bamboo shoots, fruits, vegetables and a specially-made cornbread known as "wotou," CCTV reported.   Five breeders and veterinary experts from both countries were also on the flight, with the Chinese experts scheduled to stay on for three months after the pair arrive to help them "adapt to the new living environment," according to CCTV.   The pandas won't be viewable to the public for several more weeks while they acclimate – and once veterinary teams confirm they're ready to meet their excited American fans, the zoo will share their debut date, it said.   China loans pandas to more than 20 countries under a program often referred to as "panda diplomacy." Its panda loans with Washington stretch back to 1972 – though the number of loans have decreased in recent years as US-China relations have worsened.   San Diego Zoo, one of the world's most renowned, was the first American institution to carry out cooperative research on giant pandas with China. Since 1994, it has worked with the Sichuan conservation center to study the species' behavior, genetics, artificial breeding, nutrition and disease prevention.   Fewer than 2,000 giant pandas remain in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, which lists the species as vulnerable.   But the zoo has had no pandas for the past few years – it returned its last two pandas to China in 2019, after its loan agreement ended.   Keep reading about the pandas' journey.   More on China's 'panda diplomacy': 'Bring Ya Ya home': How a panda in the US turbocharged Chinese nationalist sentiment The National Zoo's panda program is ending after more than 50 years as China looks elsewhere Hero mourned Japan's Embassy in China flew its flag at half-staff on Friday following the death of a Chinese woman who intervened in a knife attack against Japanese citizens.   School bus attendant Hu Youping was critically injured when she attempted to stop the attacker, who also stabbed a Japanese mother and her child in the eastern city of Suzhou on Monday. Hu's intervention allowed the child to escape, state-run news agency Xinhua reported, citing the mother.   "Ms. Hu protected innocent women and children from the perpetrator single-handedly," the Japanese Embassy said, adding it was "deeply saddened" by her death. "We believe her courage and kindness represent the broader Chinese public. We pay tribute to Ms. Hu's noble act and wish her peace in her rest." Sweeping military purge deepens China on Thursday expelled its former Defense Minister Li Shangfu and his predecessor from the ruling Communist Party over corruption allegations, state broadcaster CCTV reported, deepening a sweeping purge within the top ranks of the military.   Li was removed in October last year without explanation after he vanished from public view for two months, amid a series of high-level shakeups that have roiled the world's largest military.   Li's mysterious disappearance and drastic ouster just months into his job fueled intense speculation, coming after the surprise dismissal of two top generals of the PLA Rocket Force, an elite unit overseeing the China's nuclear and ballistic missiles, also without explanation.   Thursday's announcement is the first official confirmation from Chinese authorities that graft allegations are behind his dramatic disappearance.   In a sign of the scale of the high-level purges, Li's predecessor, Wei Fenghe, was also expelled from the Communist Party Thursday over alleged corruption, according to CCTV.   Both Li and Wei were former members of the Central Military Commission (CMC) – a powerful body headed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who ultimately commands the armed forces.   Li was placed under the military's internal investigation over "serious violations of party discipline and law" on August 31 last year, according to CCTV, two days after he was last seen in public at a security forum in Beijing.   The investigation by the CMC's Commission for Discipline Inspection found Li had allegedly "seriously violated" political and organization disciplines, resisted investigation, sought "personnel benefits" for himself and others, and received "huge sums of money" in bribes as well as bribing others.   "As a senior party and military leader, Li Shangfu betrayed his original mission and lost the principles of party spirit," the CCTV report said, adding that his actions "betrayed the trust and responsibility placed in him" by the top leadership of the party and the military.   His actions also "severely tainted the political and industry environment of the military equipment sector, caused significant damage to the party's cause, the development of national defense and the military, and the image of senior leadership," CCTV said.   "The nature of his misconduct is extremely serious, the impact is exceedingly harmful, and the consequences are particularly severe."   Read the full story here.   — From CNN's Nectar Gan      Workers out in Adidas corruption probe Two employees have left Adidas as a result of an ongoing investigation by the German sportswear brand into allegations of corruption in China.   Adidas said last week that it was investigating "compliance violations" in China, a key market for its sportswear, after Chinese state media reported that the company's executives in the country had been accused of embezzling millions of euros and taking huge kickbacks.   "While Adidas is investigating this matter together with independent external advisers, evidence has been found that in the interaction with local vendors, one employee violated the company's code of conduct," Claudia Lange, head of media relations at the apparel giant, said in a statement Wednesday.   "Separately, a second employee failed to meet the company's leadership expectations of demonstrating mutual respect and trust," she said, adding that both had left the company and the investigation continues.   Chinese state media outlet Economic View reported Wednesday that both former employees had worked in marketing for Adidas China.   The allegations against Adidas executives were contained in an unsigned letter from people calling themselves employees of Adidas China. The letter was widely publicized online earlier this month and reported by state media outlet Jiemian.   Jiemian wrote that the letter had been sent directly to the company's German headquarters before being shared on social media.   Lange told CNN last week that Adidas had received an anonymous letter on June 7 "indicating potential compliance violations in China."   The reported complaint alleged that a senior executive in Greater China who manages Adidas's marketing budget had embezzled millions of euros and taken kickbacks from external advertising and celebrity agencies. Several members of the executive's team and other employees were also implicated, according to a copy of the letter published by the Chinese state media outlet.   Read the full story here.   — From CNN's Juliana Liu Around the region Japanese prosecutors have charged a US Air Force member with allegedly kidnapping and raping an underage girl just before Christmas last year, Okinawa police confirmed to CNN. Thailand's banks have become the main source through which Myanmar's military is buying weapons and military supplies as its attacks on civilians ramp up, a UN expert says. Cambodian strongman leader Hun Sen has thrown his weight behind a new homegrown messaging app, which critics say is a way for the government to monitor and undermine political discussion in the country. A section of roof at New Delhi's airport collapsed following heavy rain, crushing one man to death and injuring eight others in the latest high profile infrastructure disaster to dent India's image. Researchers in Japan say they have found a new way to bind living skin tissue to a mechanical robotic surface. What did you think of today's email? Send us feedback: meanwhileinchina@cnn.com   You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up for Meanwhile in China. 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