Taipei Zoo's two giant pandas made their debut yesterday, but visitor numbers were below expectations, with people from central and southern parts of the country complaining they had to wait in long lines while Taipei residents were able to get in without much delay.
In anticipation of viewing the two giant pandas, Tuan Tuan (團團) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓), some visitors arrived at the zoo before daybreak yesterday. By 8:30am, before the gates of the zoo were even opened, hundreds of people were lined up outside.
However, many visitors from outside Taipei complained of unfair treatment as holders of EasyCards — which are widely used for mass transportation within the city — could get in easily while the remainder had to wait in long lines to pay for their tickets.
PHOTO: EPA
A woman, surnamed Chen, said she and her family hit the road at 4am to arrive in time for the opening. Chen said she thought it was unfair that they had to wait in the cold, while they watched Taipei residents swipe their EasyCards.
“[The zoo] treats us like idiots,” she said angrily.
In response, the zoo said that of the 22,000 people allowed into the zoo per day, 4,000 spots were reserved for residents from central and southern Taiwan.
“This is how the zoo's rules have always been. We issued press releases way in advance,” Taipei Zoo director Jason Yeh (葉傑生) said.
Commenting on the political connotations of Taiwan's acceptance of the pandas from China, high school teacher Pan Wen-liang said: “Tensions have indeed eased, but we are the ones to determine our own future, and no charm offensives can sway us.”
Businessman Chang Chang-chun welcomed the easing of hostilities with China as he took his two children to the panda house.
“Now the Chinese are sending pandas rather than repeating their military threats against us, and that's a welcome sign,” he said.
Other visitors complained they were rushed past the panda enclosure in a matter of seconds, while vendors lamented that umbrella sales were greater than their panda merchandise.
“We were a bit disappointed,” said one woman, who came with her husband and two-year-old daughter. “There were lots of people and you couldn't see much. They were just sleeping.”
Some visitors also complained that it was not worth the long wait. The zoo had arranged for each visitor to spend 10 minutes in the Panda Hall after obtaining a number from one of the eight counters outside the entrance.
However, some said that because of the large crowds, they were hurried out of the Panda Hall after seeing the pandas for only one minute.
Visitors were not the only ones disappointed.
“The economy is bad. No one wants to part with their money,” said one vendor selling panda dolls outside the zoo.
Visitors also said that the parking rate of NT$50 an hour was too expensive. Some said they had to pay NT$300 in parking fees alone.
A man who had parked his car in the zoo said: “It doesn't seem reasonable to charge these rates during the holiday.”
“It's impossible to stay at the park for only an hour or so,” another said.
Taipei Zoo said a total of 18,580 people visited the zoo yesterday, about 3,000 short of expectations.
In addition to the outdoor and indoor display areas, the panda facility includes a gift shop, media center, tourist service center and a convention center.
Until the Lunar New Year holiday ends on Sunday, the zoo is open daily from 8:30am until 5:30pm. Normal operating hours (9am to 5pm) will resume on Monday.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat