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| KaiKai and JiaJia |
All this aside, millions ($8.6mil) had also been
channeled into building the luxurious zoo habitat for the bears. Even Singapore
Airlines had a part to play in making the bear's visit to Singapore a lavish
one by ensuring that the cabin temperature was kept between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius
throughout their flight. Apart from this, even more money has been poured into
advertising and different costs and claims.
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| Commemorative Panda coins |
With all this spending going on, some Singaporeans
wonder - "is the arrival of two pandas really deserving of all this hype?"
From my perspective, I feel that all this happiness
and enthusiasm might not necessary be meant completely for the animal's sake.
Granted - the pandas are cute and cuddly and might even produce lovable offspring
for all to enjoy in the future - but what does this really symbolize? The
pandas aren't really here to stay, after all - they're a loan for ten years
from China. But I think that may be exactly the point.
China is the next rising economy that the entire world is watching, and
Singapore isn't one to be missed either. (Read: http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/none/worlds-greatest-city-50-reasons-why-singapore-no-1-399897.) (A study of
the world's economies has shown that Singapore had the highest gross domestic
product (GDP) per capita in the world in the year 2010, and will likely remain
at number one even until the year 2050. A Bloomberg survey has also ranked
Singapore as the “World’s healthiest country” in August 2012.)
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| Panda merchandise |
Can
anyone else see a successful collaboration in our midst? Singapore is a great
country – nobody can doubt that - but yes, unfortunately, we do still have our
limitations. China is the rising global superstar and may very soon be the
largest economy in the world. By loaning these pandas to Singapore, I believe
that this demonstrates a certain “trust” and “closeness” that couldn’t be
expressed solely in words. China is entrusting us with the animals in a show of
friendship and Singapore is definitely enthusiastic and welcoming about such a
development. Therefore, in order to showcase our ties with such a great
country, no effort has been spared to advertise the arrival of the pandas to
the locals. This would mark the start of understanding for the locals about the
impending long friendship and partnership with China.
Of
course, this wouldn’t be the first time that Singapore has had ties with China
– especially looking at some of our national athletes. But I think that it
signifies something greater – that China is really accepting friendship with
Singapore as a whole nation. Not to sound idealistic, but I feel like this
development will definitely impact us in so many great positive ways. Singapore really
has nothing to lose in going into a solid partnership with a country as great as
China, and most would agree that China has much to gain from us as well. Why
shouldn’t we be helping each other in a time when other parts of the world
might be going through certain difficulties?
I’ll
end off here, hoping that my thoughts have been received by you - the readers. I
really mean no disrespect and I apologize for any mistakes I might have made
writing this short post. I love Singapore and everything I have said is my
personal opinion only. Thank you for your time!
Please don't hesitate to send in any of your own thoughts or feedback to Ordinarysgkid@hotmail.com or to follow me on twitter at@NatKathXo :)
Please don't hesitate to send in any of your own thoughts or feedback to Ordinarysgkid@hotmail.com or to follow me on twitter at
Credits:
CNN for the information. First Image: hpility. Second Image: kjc-gold-silver-bullion.com.au. Third Image:Thejakartapost.com
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