A pair of panda cubs given to Hong Kong as a gift from the
central government arrived yesterday to celebrate the Special
Administrative Region's 10th anniversary.
The SAR government said their new names, chosen from thousands
of entries in a contest, will be Le Le and Ying Ying.
The pandas left their home in Wolong, Sichuan at 7 am for
Chengdu, where they were put on a plane at 11:40 am bound for Hong
Kong. The pair arrived at about 4 pm.
At a ceremony held at Hong Kong International Airport, Secretary
for Home Affairs, Patrick Ho, and head of State Forestry
Administration, Zhao Xuemin, signed and exchanged certificates,
which signaled the official handover of the giant pandas.
In an address, Ho said after the central government gave An An
and Jia Jia to the HKSAR in 1999, it was a privilege for Hong Kong
to be given a new pair of young and healthy giant pandas.
"It shows the care and love of the central government for HKSAR,
and we are truly grateful for that," he said.
The pandas will be trained by staff at Ocean Park to adjust to
their new environment, Ho said, and they will officially meet the
people of Hong Kong on July 1, the day of Hong Kong's handover.
He believed the pandas will bring lots of joy to the people of
Hong Kong.
He also said the pandas have an "important duty", to build a
family in Hong Kong.
Zhao said the people of Hong Kong and the whole of the Chinese
mainland should feel especially happy.
It was raining when the pandas took off from Wolong, but the sun
was shining brightly on their arrival in Hong Kong.
The male panda, number 606, was named Le Le, which means
happiness.
The female, number 610, was named Ying Ying, which means
fullness and blossom.
Their names were chosen from 13,000 entries in a competition
organized by the Home Affairs Bureau.
HKSAR Chief Executive Donald Tsang said Le Le and Ying Ying are
suitable names for the pandas.
Speaking in Henan, where he is on an economic visit, he hoped
the panda's live happily and start a family in Hong Kong.
(China Daily April 27, 2007)
