香港——周四迎来了来自北京赠送的安安与克克两只大熊猫，他们在热烈的欢迎声中抵达中国领地。两天前，芬兰宣布将归还自己所持有的同类对偶，由于财政压力增大。
在机场跑道上铺开红地毯，配以熊猫玩具，香港官员们以这样欢庆的方式迎接这些巨大生物。出生自四川的雌性与雄性的两只大熊猫将使当地总数增至六只，这是有记录以来金融中心内的最高数量。一些立法议员呼吁政府利用它们来提振旅游业，并提出通过构建主题推广和基础设施创造“熊猫经济”的策略。
五岁的这对大熊猫夫妇被安排在海洋公园主题公园内生活，在正式面向公众展示之前，他们将有一段适应新环境的时间，直到十二月。官员宣布，香港的特首李家超随后将会组织公投为它们取名。在新建的、配备了从广东进口竹叶的巨大围笼中等待，这对动物将暂不公开露面。
与此同时，位于芬兰的动物园决定提前近八年归还其饲养的两只大熊猫，即丽米与皮里，这是在经济无法承受的情况下做出的选择。这个决定在周二由动物园董事会主席透露给了路透社。
这两只熊猫在2018年1月被引进芬兰，那时正值中国国家主席习近平访问北欧国家并签署保护动物协议之后不久。自从1949年中华人民共和国成立以来，大熊猫就被送往外国动物园以增强贸易联系、巩固外交关系，并提升国际形象。芬兰与中国的协定原计划为期15年，然而现在它们将很快经历一个月的隔离期后再返回中国。
作为一家私营公司，该动物园已在动物栖息地投入了超过800万欧元的资金，并每年需支付约150万欧元以维持费用，包括向中国支付的保育费。由于疫情限制了旅行流量，去年该动物园已累积了大量的债务，正在讨论大熊猫归还事宜。近期不断上升的通货膨胀进一步增加了成本。芬兰政府在2023年拒绝了为动物园提供财政支持的请求。
整个谈判过程历时三年，最终达成协议。西文森主席表示，“现在我们到达了一个点，中国说可以这样做。”
动物园决定将两只大熊猫归还中国的决策是其自身做出的，并未涉及芬兰政府层面，也不应影响两国之间的关系，芬兰外交部发言人指出。
尽管中国政府尝试帮助动物园渡过难关，但经过友好的磋商后，中芬双方最终同意归还这两只大熊猫。在赫尔辛基的中国大使馆对路透社发表了这样的声明。
新闻来源：www.nbcnews.com
原文地址：Hong Kong gets two more giant pandas as Finland says it can’t afford its own bears
新闻日期：2024-09-26
原文摘要：
HONG KONG — Pandas An An and Ke Ke, a gift from Beijing to Hong Kong, arrived in the Chinese territory on Thursday to much fanfare, two days after Finland said it would return its own pair over mounting debts. Hong Kong officials welcomed the giant pandas at the city’s international airport with a red carpet on the tarmac and panda toys. The Sichuan-born male and female will increase the total number of pandas to six, the highest ever in the financial hub. Some lawmakers called on the government to use the animals to boost tourism and create a “panda economy” by building themed promotions and infrastructure. The 5-year-old pair will be housed at the city’s Ocean Park theme park and remain out of the public eye until December, officials said, so they can get used to their new habitat. Hong Kong leader John Lee said the pandas would soon receive new names through a public contest organized by the government. Workers at Ocean Park have prepared a giant enclosure for the new arrivals complete with bamboo leaves planted in Guangdong Province. An An and Ke Ke’s arrival comes just after resident giant panda Ying Ying gave birth to twin cubs ahead of her 19th birthday. She was the oldest panda on record to have successfully given birth for the first time, Ocean Park said. The cubs are still under intensive care and are expected to make their public debut in a few months. Meanwhile, 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 President 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 ($8.92 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 that did not involve Finland’s government and should not affect 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.
