台湾の雄パンダ死ぬ　中国との友好の印

【台北ＡＦＰ＝時事】台湾の台北市立動物園は１９日、中国から１４年前に贈られた雄のパンダ「団団（トゥアントゥアン）」（１８歳）が死んだと発表した。８月から体調を崩し、検査で脳に異変が見つかっていた。（写真は台湾の台北市立動物園で飼育されているパンダの「団団（トゥアントゥアン）」。同園提供）
　団団は、けいれんの発作や無気力症状を繰り返し示すようになり、動物園側が抗けいれん薬を投与するなどの治療を行ってきた。先月、脳腫瘍の疑いがあるとして緩和ケアに移行。ここ数日は発作の回数が増え、薬物投与でも症状を抑えられない状態だった。
　動物園によると、獣医師チームが１９日朝、団団を麻酔で眠らせて改めて検査。「回復の見込みなし」との診断結果が出たことから、昏睡（こんすい）状態のまま死なせることを決定したという。
　ソーシャルメディアには、団団を追悼する投稿が相次いだ。台北市の柯文哲市長は、インスタグラムに「台湾の人々に幸せをもたらし、台北動物園の魅力を高めてくれた」と書き込んだ。
　団団は台中関係が比較的良好だった２００８年に、雌の「円円（ユエンユエン）」と共に中国政府から贈られた。２頭の名前を合わせると「再会」「統一」といった意味になる。団団と円円の間には雌のパンダ２頭が生まれた。
　中国の「パンダ外交」では通常、パンダは貸与されるだけで、国外で繁殖に成功した場合も数年以内に中国に返還しなければならない。ただ、団団と円円は、贈呈当時の馬英九政権が親中派だったことから例外を認められ、生まれた子も含めて台湾に寄贈された。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/11/21-10:49）

A panda that China gifted to Taiwan 14 years ago as a symbol of what were then warmer ties died on Saturday, after suffering a spate of seizures, Taipei Zoo said.
Tuan Tuan and his breeding mate Yuan Yuan were given to Taiwan by Beijing in late 2008, at a time when relations between the two were more cordial.
China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to one day bring the self-ruled democratic island into the fold, by force if necessary.
Our medical team has confirmed that Tuan Tuan's heart stopped beating at 13:48 (0548 GMT), the zoo said in a short statement.
The panda was put under deep anaesthesia to take CT scans earlier Saturday, and the team decided to let Tuan Tuan continue to sleep after the results indicated his condition was irreversible and that he could no longer live a quality life, zoo officials said.
It would have been extremely painful and risky for Tuan Tuan to resuscitate him from the anaesthesia, said spokesman Eric Tsao.
Vets first noticed Tuan Tuan, 18, was ill in August, when he began suffering seizures and appeared increasingly unsteady and lethargic.
Scans showed he had a brain lesion and he was placed on anti-seizure medication.
The zoo suspected Tuan Tuan had a tumour and he was moved into palliative care last month.
The seizures returned in the past few days, more frequent than before, and medicine could not ease the symptoms.
Fans mourned Tuan Tuan's death on social media, while Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je thanked the panda in an Instagram post for bringing happiness to Taiwanese people and making Taipei Zoo more wonderful.
Taiwan's top China policy-making body, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), hailed the panda's role in improving ties with Beijing.
Tuan Tuan let everyone know more about giant pandas and help promote exchanges between the two sides... MAC is saddened that he has passed away, it said in a statement.
The panda couple -- whose names combined mean reunion or unity -- had become huge stars in Taiwan and Yuan Yuan has given birth to two female cubs.
China has long deployed panda diplomacy and the gifting of Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan was seen as endorsing the presidency of then Beijing-friendly leader Ma Ying-jeou.
Beijing only loans pandas to foreign zoos, which must usually return any offspring within a few years of their birth to join the country's breeding programme.
But Taiwan was granted an exception as part of a brief charm offensive China launched in the late 2000s, with Beijing fully gifting both Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan and any offspring.
Relations between China and Taiwan have been on ice since 2016 with Beijing severing official communications and government visits between the two sides scrapped.