Malaysia Returns 2 Panda Yi Yi And Sheng Yi Children To China

UNSPLASH/Lukas W ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The Malaysian government has repatriated two panda cubs from ex-situ conservation from the giant panda pair Xing Xing and Liang Liang, which the Chinese government lent 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries on May 21, 2014.

Malaysia's Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NERCC) in a media statement issued in Putrajaya, Friday, said the two panda cubs were Yi Yi and Sheng Yi, and would be escorted back to China on August 29, 2023.

Previously, a panda cub named Nuan Nuan, who is the brother of Yi Yi and Sheng Yi, was escorted back to China in 2017.

The Chinese government has lent Xing Xing and Liang Liang for 10 years, starting from the arrival of the two giant pandas in Malaysia.

The delivery of the panda children's return as a compliance with the giant panda conservation international cooperation project agreement between Malaysia and the People's Republic of China. Prior to that, Yi Yi's repatriation was delayed due to the closure of China's entrance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

China Cultural Center Kuala Lumpur (CCKL) together with the State Zoo previously held a celebration ceremony for the 17th anniversary of the giant panda pair Xing Xing and Liang Liang on Wednesday (23/8) at the Giant Panda Conservation Center (PKGP), Zoo Negara.

The activity, which was attended by NERCC Deputy President Secretary Abdul Wahid Salim to the Chinese People's Republic of Malaysia Embassy official, aims to raise public awareness of the importance of maintaining habitat and threatened species of wild life, as well as strengthening cooperation between the two countries.