The Chinese are Reclaiming Pandas from American Zoos. Let Them.
Posted by M. C. on October 12, 2023
The only beneficiaries of such actions are panda-philes and bureaucrats at government-run zoos. Benefiting them at the expense of heating up tensions is, dare I say, not worth it.
There are thousands of religions across the world and countless more personal creeds. 195 different countries dispense legal codes and many more nations and stateless peoples govern their own affairs according to their non-governmental customs and norms. Despite this, there are certain moral truths evident to all men. One truth stands out amongst them all as if it were inscribed on the hearts and minds of all men and preserved and passed down on stone tablets handed to Adam by God prior to the fall of man. What is this moral truth? Well, it is absurd to even ask that question. You should already know the answer: Thou shalt have pandas.
How many pandas should each country own? That’s unclear, but what is clear is that pandas are out there, and we must have them. Taking this into consideration, it is truly an act of injustice that China is hogging all of the pandas for themselves. Such an action is truly despicable and warrants, no, necessitates government action.
Joking aside, this is what Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) suggests in response to China reclaiming pandas from American zoos, stating, “I mean, they’re taking back our pandas. You know, we should take back all their farmland.” Excellent point, senator. Truly inspiring. In response to China reclaiming animals the United States certainly does not have a right to, Fetterman is suggesting seizing Chinese-owned farmland stateside. The absurdity of this position should be evident.
Not only is this a disproportionate response, the effect of doing so on foreign affairs would be either negligible or negative. As noted in an article published by the Libertarian Institute earlier this year, little farmland in the U.S. is owned by the Chinese—less than one percent to be exact—and as noted by that article and this article by Dr. Walter Block, seizing land may only heighten tensions rather than ameliorate them.
The United States is acting as if they have an immutable right to own these pandas. However, this is baseless. The pandas come from the Chinese government; therefore, the Chinese taxpayer has a more proximate claim to the pandas than any zoo in the U.S. Using government aggression to coerce the pandas back into the hands of American zoos is totally unjustifiable.
It is true that the pandas come from a decades-long loan agreement between the Chinese and U.S. governments, and the pandas currently being reclaimed by the Chinese government are not necessarily the same pandas that were loaned many years ago. But per the loan agreement, China has claim to any offspring of the pandas and they were still acting on behalf of the Chinese people when striking up the agreement. The Chinese people, therefore, maintain their greater claim.
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