What's happened
Hong Kong has welcomed two adult giant pandas, An An and Ke Ke, gifted by Beijing to celebrate the city's 27th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty. The pandas will undergo a two-month quarantine before their public debut at Ocean Park, joining the recently born panda twins.
Why it matters
What the papers say
According to the South China Morning Post, the arrival of An An and Ke Ke was celebrated with a ceremonial welcome led by Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki, who remarked on the joy of their arrival during the National Day celebrations. The Independent highlighted the significance of the pandas as part of China's soft power strategy, noting that their presence could enhance tourism and local engagement. The articles collectively emphasize the excitement surrounding the pandas and the potential economic benefits for Hong Kong.
How we got here
The arrival of An An and Ke Ke marks the third pair of giant pandas sent to Hong Kong since 1997. Their gifting coincides with the recent birth of panda twins at Ocean Park, enhancing the city's panda population to six.
More on these topics
-
Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a metropolitan area and special administrative region of the People's Republic of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta of the South China Sea.
-
Beijing, alternatively romanized as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's most populous capital city, with over 21 million residents within an administrative area of 16,410.5 km².
-
John Lee Ka-chiu, SBS, PMSM, PDSM, JP is a Hong Kong government official and former police officer. He is the current Secretary for Security.
-
Sichuan is a landlocked province in Southwest China occupying most of the Sichuan Basin and the easternmost part of the Tibetan Plateau between the Jinsha River on the west, the Daba Mountains in the north, and the Yungui Plateau to the south.