Advertisement

Copenhagen Zoo cut Taiwan from panda map to please China

The Local Denmark
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Copenhagen Zoo cut Taiwan from panda map to please China
Mao Sun, one of the two pandas romps around in Copenhagen Zoo in April. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix

Copenhagen Zoo removed a map showing Taiwan as independent after complaints from China, before getting two coveted pandas on loan, letters leaked to the 24syv radio station have revealed.

Advertisement

"The maps of China and the rest of the world at the panda enclosure are defective," Chinese officials wrote in a letter to the zoo's management after inspecting yin-yang shaped facilities designed for the bears by star architect Bjarke Ingels. 
 
The map showing the animal's global distribution had marked the island of Taiwan in a different colour from mainland China, signalling its political independence. 
 
READ ALSO: 
After receiving the letter, zoo officials removed the map ahead of the delivery of the two pandas, Mao Sun and Xing Er, in April. 
 
"The Chinese made us aware that they consider Taiwan a part of China," the zoo told the station.
 
Bengt Holst, the zoo's scientific director, added that zoo management had tried to sidestep the issue by replacing the sign with another showing the distribution of pandas in mainland China alone. 
 
“In this way we avoided taking a decision either way. We knew very well that no matter what we did with such a sign, we would come across as political, and we're not interested in doing that, so we made a completely sign to avoid that debate," he said. 
 
 
 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also