China has often used the gift of giant pandas as a sort of peace offering.
Mao Zedong gave a pair to the US after President Nixon visited and Beijing recently gave one to Taiwan in 2008.
Now, China is giving two giant pandas to a Belgian zoo but it’s only caused a larger rift between Belgium’s northern Flemish-speaking Flanders and southern French-speaking Wallonia.
Each side of the country is fighting for the pair of bears!
The premier of Flanders actually chimed in that he was disappointed and feeling “indignant” because the bears were being sent to a private zoo in Wallonia instead of the historic Antwerp zoo in Flanders.
Flanders folks are accusing Belgium’s Socialist prime minister Elio Di Rupo of favoritism because he was the former mayor of Mons, a French speaking city, not far from the Wallonia zoo.
Di Rupo is insisting the only reason the bears are going to the chosen zoo is because of the “professionalism” in their application for the bears.
The pandas should arrive in Belgium in 2014├óΓé¼┬ª so we’ll have to wait and see if this starts a civil war or not. LOLz!
[Image via AP Images.]