Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan said Sounday that the city’s pair of new pandas will finally meet the public today.
Chan made the announcement on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of an exhibition at Seac Pai Van Park about the mainland’s current research on giant pandas.
Chan said in a speech that the two pandas had been receiving 24/7 care since their arrival on April 30, adding that the two quickly adjusted to their new surroundings during the quarantine period, and so the government had deemed both ready to meet the public from today.
Speaking on the sidelines, Chan said that the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) had looked closely with researchers from Sichuan into the death of the first Sam Sam, and had made the necessary adjustments to ensure such a tragedy would not happen again.
Macau’s first Sam Sam died of kidney failure last year. According to earlier media reports, the first Hoi Hoi will enter a breeding programme at the Wolong Panda Re¬serve in Sichuan.
Originally, Hoi Hoi and Sam Sam were called Yalin and Shurong in the mainland. However, the local government later decided to give them the same names as their predecessors.
Combined, the names mean “happiness”. In Putonghua, the pair are known as Kai Kai and Xin Xin.
According to an IACM statement, from today until the end of the month, visitors can meet the new Hoi Hoi and Sam Sam at the Macau Giant Panda Pavilion at Seac Pai Van Park. (Macaunews/Macaupost)
