Asia Pacific Daily Dongyu
For a long time, Carolyn Maloney, a congresswoman from New York City, USA, has always had a wish: to bring Chinese giant pandas to New York.
According to the US "Daily Beast" report, Maloney's fascination with pandas can be traced back at least decades ago, when one of her young daughters determined to become a giant panda scientist. Maloney said she discovered that giant pandas have a unique power to bring people together. For example, she recalled that during the 1999 Yugoslav War, after NATO troops accidentally bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, they met with Chinese officials and the atmosphere was tense. The tension in the room gradually dissipated, she said, until she "finally broke the ice with the panda."
In 2014, Maloney went to the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center and saw China’s giant pandas with his own eyes. After returning to China, she has been working tirelessly to introduce giant pandas to New York. In 2016, she secured the support of Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chairman of AIG, a billionaire who agreed to help her launch a fundraiser to introduce giant pandas. .
In addition to Greenberg, Maloney also has the support of another American billionaire - John Catsimatidis. Kazimatidis is a long-time personal friend and supporter of Maloney. In 2016, the two tycoons co-founded Pandas Come to New York, a non-profit organization with a mission: to raise the tens of millions of dollars necessary to build and maintain a panda pavilion in New York's Central Park.
To achieve this goal, in early 2017, Maloney and the organization hosted a panda-themed soiree at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel, hosting Manhattan celebrities and some congressional colleagues. According to reports, the gala raised about $500,000. A few months later, Maloney cut the ribbon at an event for China's Hainan Airlines, announcing direct flights to New York from Chongqing and Chengdu, home of the Panda Center.
But until now, Maloney's wish has not been realized. On the one hand, bringing giant pandas to New York is not a simple matter. It takes some manpower, material and financial resources to rent giant pandas from China, feed them and build suitable homes. Three zoos in the United States have rented giant pandas from China: National Zoo , Atlanta Zoo and Memphis Zoo. On the other hand, some American politicians' misunderstanding of China's " panda diplomacy " is also the reason why Maloney has been unable to realize this wish.
Pandas are China’s national treasures. China has always developed and enhanced friendly relations with foreign countries by donating or leasing pandas to foreign countries. However, in the eyes of some American politicians and media, this is seen as China’s display overseas through means other than force. Influential and sometimes malicious political behavior. However, although some American politicians and media continue to slander China's "panda diplomacy," they have to admit that giant pandas are indeed deeply loved and welcomed by Americans.
As Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Hua Chunying said, giant pandas are cute and naive. They are not only China's "national treasure", but also deeply welcomed and loved by people all over the world. They are messengers and messengers of friendship between China and foreign countries. The bridge promotes the cultural integration and people-to-people exchanges between China and foreign countries. The speculations and suspicions of some American politicians and media are completely unreasonable.
(Source: APD News)
