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China Offers White Tigers to Taiwan |
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| CHINA: July 15, 2008 | ||
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TAIPEI - A southern Chinese province has offered two white tigers to a Taiwan city, Taiwanese officials said on Monday in another sign of detente between the two arch-rivals.
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Guangdong province offered the tigers to Taiwan's southern port city Kaohsiung when a group led by the city council speaker visited local officials in China, city officials said. Kaohsiung has not decided whether to accept the offer. China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists (KMT) fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary. Since China-friendly Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May, economic and trade ties have quickly warmed, and Beijing has offered to donate a pair of China-symbolic giant pandas, sparking competition to home them among Taiwan zoos. In a similar goodwill trade, Taipei's zoo and the Shanghai Wild Animals Park will exchange three animal species apiece to share breeding techniques, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin said on Monday. (Reporting by Ralph Jennings)
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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