Panda diplomacy leads to millions of people going to China without any oversight

(Craig Nigrelli)

AMERICAN ZOOS HAVE DELETED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO CHINA OVER THE PAST DECADES UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT, WHICH SOME HAVE CALLED “PANDA DIPLOMACY.”
In return for huge amounts of money, China delivers pandas in pairs to American zoos, such as the National Zoo in Washington
THE SAN DIEGO ZOO.
According to US law, the money should be spent on protecting pandas in the wild. BUT A NEW YORK TIMES INVESTIGATION OF THOUSANDS OF PAGES OF DOCUMENTS AND INTERVIEWS WITH dozens of witnesses shows that China spent much of that money on things like roads, housing and museums. Furthermore, China has refused to explain where all the money is going.
US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICES MONITORS AMERICAN PAYMENTS. It has raised concerns with American zoo officials and even froze payments on a few occasions. BUT ZOO MANAGERS WEAR THAT IF THEY STOP PAYMENTS TO CHINA, THE CHINESE WOULD WANT THEIR PANDAS BACK, WHAT IT COSTS TO AMERICAN ZOOS: VISITORS, MEDIA ATTENTION, MERCHANDISE SALES AND ESSENTIALLY REVENUE. Therefore, federal regulators allowed payments to continue.
KENNETH STANSELL, THE FORMER FISH AND WILDLIFE OFFICIAL, IS QUOTED AS SAID: “There was always a back and forth because the US shouldn’t ask anything,” and the Chinese would often say it shouldn’t care how they use the money.
The investigation also found that the pandas are often used for breeding rather than conservation efforts. In tracking financial reports, the Times found that $86 million flowed from American zoos to two organizations run by the Chinese government.
The investigation revealed that some of that money was used to turn a panda breeding center in western China into an attraction.
A DIRECTOR OF A FOUNDATION REPRESENTING AMERICAN ZOOS SAYS CHINA felt that as long as Americans had the pandas, the U.S. shouldn’t tell them how to spend the money.
THE TIMES EXAMINED RECENT CONTRACTS AND DID NOT FIND THAT THE NATIONAL ZOO IN WASHINGTON OR THE SAN DIEGO ZOO CHECKED HOW CHINA SPENDED THE MILLION DOLLARS. AMERICAN REGULATORY LEADERS WHO WERE IN CHINA SAY THEY HAVE SEEN **SOME EVIDENCE** OF CONSERVATION ON THEIR TRAVELS TO THE COUNTRY, BUT THEY ALSO TOLD THE NEW YORK TIMES THAT THE PANDAS’ HABITAT IS SHRINKING AND THE PANDAS’ RANGE IS FEWERING TO HAVE TO STREAM THROUGH OFTEN ISOLATED.