Panda pair arrive in Hong Kong for VIP welcome as Beijing celebrates 75 years of communist China

CNN
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Hong Kong rolled out the red carpet Thursday to receive two giant pandas donated by the Chinese government to mark 75 years of Communist Party rule, part of a citywide initiative by authorities to deepen patriotism.

An An and Ke Ke, both five, landed at Hong Kong International Airport around 11am, where they were greeted with a welcoming ceremony.

But fans hoping to catch a glimpse of them will have to wait until December, as they will spend the next 30 days in quarantine and have more time to adjust to their new habitat in the southern Chinese city.

Elite police motorcyclists, who normally escort visiting VIPs, drove them to their new home across town at Ocean Park, where the pair join four other pandas at the theme park.

An An and Ke Ke arrived from a breeding center in mainland China’s Sichuan Province. Staff from the Chengdu metropolitan area mobilized from 2 a.m. to transport the pandas to the airport for a 1,350-kilometer journey, carried in crates filled with supplies of treats.

They used forklifts to load the duo onto a truck, as a line of staff waved them goodbye from the sidewalk, according to footage from Hong Kong state broadcaster RTHK.

A panda keeper from Ocean Park has been in Chengdu since July to help the bears acclimate to his scent and voice, the theme park said on its Instagram page, adding that staff have also introduced bamboo from southern China into their diet.

An An, a 130-kilogram male, is “strong, agile and intelligent,” while Ke Ke, a 100-kilogram female, is “good at climbing, gentle and cute,” city Chief Executive John Lee said at a news conference on Tuesday.

They bring the city’s total number of pandas to six, joining Le Le and Ying Ying who were gifted to Hong Kong in 2007. Ying Ying made headlines in August when she gave birth to twins, making her the oldest known panda mother to give birth to her first child.

“Panda Diplomacy”

Even though the animals do not leave China, their journey has connotations of “panda diplomacy.” Beijing lends pandas to more than 20 countries as ambassadors of friendship, which is sometimes seen as a barometer of relations.

China is giving Hong Kong special treatment. The two pandas donated to the city will be able to stay there permanently, as will their cubs in the future, unlike their counterparts loaned abroad, where countries must return them at a certain age, according to Paulo Pong Kin-yee, chairman of Ocean Park.

Their arrival also has a political purpose, as Hong Kong officials drum up enthusiasm for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on October 1.

“I would like to once again express my sincere gratitude to the central government for its care and support for Hong Kong for gifting two beloved and energetic giant pandas to Hong Kong,” Hong Kong Chief Executive Lee said Tuesday.

In Hong Kong, activists once marched for more democracy on October 1. But a crackdown by the city’s authorities has left opposition figures largely in jail or exile since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020.

Chinese and Hong Kong officials say the law has helped restore stability to the financial hub after mass protests in 2019. They have vowed to instill a new culture of Chinese patriotism among Hong Kongers and crack down on what they call “foreign interference.”

The U.S. government, its allies and human rights groups have criticized the national security crackdown, saying it infringes on individual freedoms and ends the once-free culture of the international business hub.

As this year’s celebrations approach, Chinese flags are being flown in many parts of the city, alongside giant billboards celebrating the anniversary, while preparations are underway for a litany of events aimed at boosting patriotism, including a lengthy fireworks display on Tuesday night.

Kevin Yeung, the city’s minister for culture, sports and tourism, said Wednesday he hoped the arrival of the pandas would “make Hong Kong feel more deeply involved in the central government’s care.”