Hong Kong tourism chief to seal deal in Sichuan ahead of transfer of giant pandas
- Tourism minister Kevin Yeung will travel to Chengdu on Thursday to sign agreement ahead of pandas’ scheduled arrival in city before National Day
Hong Kong’s tourism chief will fly to Sichuan on Thursday to sign an agreement and settle the arrival arrangements of a pair of giant pandas Beijing has gifted to the city.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung’s trip was announced on Wednesday, a day after the Post learned that the pandas were tentatively scheduled to arrive around September 26, ahead of National Day.
“[He will] attend the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement on the gift of a pair of giant pandas from the central government to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and to follow up on the arrival arrangements for the giant pandas to Hong Kong,” the press statement read.
The government added that representatives from Hong Kong Ocean Park, the pandas’ soon-to-be new home, will travel with Yeung to the provincial capital, Chengdu.
The Post learned on Tuesday that the pandas, along with their veterinary team, would be subject to 30 days of quarantine ahead of their departure from Sichuan province and would go through another round of quarantine once they arrive in Hong Kong.
The pandas would travel via Cathay Pacific Airways’ cargo services, sources said, adding that it would be “impossible” for the pandas to meet the public by National Day on October 1.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, leading a delegation that included Yeung and Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong Kin-yee, visited Sichuan last month to discuss arrangements for the pandas’ arrival.