City Councilors Hsu Chia-ching and Wu Si-yiao of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) claimed that an “M-shaped” society is forming in the Taipei City Zoo, after the management spent more than NT$300 million (US$9.9 million) in building a special exhibition hall to accommodate the Chinese giant pandas.

The “M-shaped” society generally refers to the widening gap between the rich and poor in Taiwan and the island’s dwindling middle class as more people cannot keep up with the rising cost of living, especially under stagnating wages. In the case of the zoo, however, the Shin Kong Group, which owns some 18 affiliated companies in Taiwan, donated NT$250 million for the exhibition hall.

Construction of the hall began in 2003 and it is scheduled to be completed this June.

According to the city councilors, the facility occupies a plot of land that measures more than 1,400 square meters, and each of the pandas, if they could come to Taipei for a long stay, would occupy a room that measures some 689 square meters — as big as a “presidential suite” in a five-star hotel.

In comparison, a Burmese python only lives in a 6.6 square-meter glass exhibition box, while the Asian yellow pond turtle, a protected amphibian native to Taiwan, is kept together with many other kinds of turtles in one glass tank, Hsu said at a press conference which she and her colleague held at the City Council.

Hsu said she suspected the dormitory-like living environment was the cause of death of 10 Asian yellow pond turtles in 2006. She said the turtles were attacked or died from disease transmitted by other species living with them.

Wu criticized the zoo for attaching much greater importance to boosting tourism than to animal conservation and educational affairs.

She also doubted new Taipei Zoo Director Yeh Chie-sheng is the right person for the post which requires professional knowledge of animal caring and conservation.

Yeh assumed the office April 2 after his predecessor Wu Pao-chung retired. He was promoted from the position of deputy director general of the city Bureau of Civil Affairs.

In response to the criticisms, Yeh said he takes the job with an open mind, and noted that the zoo, under the management of a group of professionals, has been listed as one of the world’s top 10 zoos.

Chang Ming-chie, head of the animal division, said the zoo is not only commissioned to display animals but also to shelter those seized in agriculture authorities’ raids against illegal animal smuggling.

He also explained that in the wild, different species live together in one place, and that if the species share similar genes they would mate with each other to produce hybrids.

Beijing offered the pandas to Taiwan in 2005 following then-opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan’s visit to China in May that year, but the pandas were then rejected by the current DPP government. The government and the DPP criticized the offer as a publicity ploy by China, which wants to eventually reunify with Taiwan.

The panda issue returned to the media spotlight after President-elect Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT said he welcomed them after Ma won the presidential election last month.

The Taipei Zoo has been actively seeking to host the celebrities, which the city government regards as a way to boost tourism.

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