赫尔辛基，芬兰——据周二路透社报道，该动物园董事会主席表示，芬兰将提前八年以上，在11月之前将两只生活在该动物园的大熊猫归还中国。这两只大熊猫分别名为“露米”和“皮鲁”，于2018年1月在中华人民共和国主席习近平访问北欧国家并签署共同保护动物的协议几个月后抵达芬兰。
自1949年以来，中华人民共和国向海外动物园捐赠大熊猫，以加强贸易联系、巩固外交关系并提升国际形象。与芬兰签订的协议原定为期15年，但目前这两只大熊猫将在接受一个月的隔离后被运回中国。Ahtari动物园是熊猫现在的居住地。
该动物园是一个私营公司，为动物生活设施投资超过800万欧元（约900万美元），每年用于维护的费用高达150万欧元，包括向中国支付保护费。据Ahtari董事会主席Risto Sivonen透露，动物园本希望通过大熊猫吸引芬兰中部地区的游客，但在新冠疫情下旅游受限后，去年却积累了不断累积的债务，并讨论了归还的可能性。
物价上涨也增加了成本，该动物园称，而2023年时，芬兰政府拒绝为动物返回提供国家资金。总的来说，有关返还熊猫的谈判持续了三年之久。Sivonen表示：“现在我们到了中国说可以实现的阶段。”据芬兰外交部发言人表示，这是由动物园作出的商业决定，并不涉及芬兰政府，也不影响两国关系。
尽管中国政府曾试图帮助该动物园度过难关，但在友好协商之后，中芬两国共同决定将大熊猫归还。赫尔辛基中国的大使馆在给路透社的一份声明中如此解释。
新闻来源：www.cnn.com
原文地址：Zoo to send giant pandas back to China because they’re too expensive to keep
新闻日期：2024-09-25
原文摘要：
Helsinki, Finland — Finland will return two giant pandas to China in November, more than eight years ahead of time, as the zoo where they live can no longer afford their upkeep, the chair of the zoo’s board told Reuters on Tuesday. The pandas, named Lumi and Pyry, were brought to Finland in January 2018, months after Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited the Nordic country and signed a joint agreement on protecting the animals. Since its founding in 1949, the People’s Republic of China has sent pandas to foreign zoos to strengthen trading ties, cement foreign relations and boost its international image. The Finnish agreement was for a stay of 15 years, but instead the pandas will soon go into a month-long quarantine before they are shipped back to China, according to Ahtari Zoo, the pandas’ current home. The zoo, a private company, had invested over 8 million euros (about $9 million) in the facility where the animals live and faced annual costs of 1.5 million euros for their upkeep, including a preservation fee paid to China, Ahtari Chair Risto Sivonen said. The zoo had hoped the pandas would attract visitors to the central Finland location but last year said it had instead accumulated mounting debts as the pandemic curbed travel, and that it was discussing a return. Rising inflation had added to the costs, the zoo said, and Finland’s government in 2023 rejected pleas for state funding. In all, negotiations to return the animals had lasted three years, Sivonen said. “Now we reached a point where the Chinese said it could be done,” Sivonen said. The return of the pandas was a business decision made by the zoo which did not involve Finland’s government and should not impact relations between the two countries, a spokesperson for Finland’s foreign ministry said. Despite efforts by China to aid the zoo, the two countries in the end jointly concluded after friendly consultations to return the pandas, the Chinese embassy in Helsinki said in a statement to Reuters.
