'Save Fu Bao': Activists call for better conditions for panda in China as Xi visits Gyeongju
Published: 30 Oct. 2025, 15:36
![Members of the animal rights group advocating for panda Fu Bao's health hold a rally near Hwangridan-gil in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 30. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/30/18b48808-9c90-4581-9d4e-268d0e5b085f.jpg)
Members of the animal rights group advocating for panda Fu Bao's health hold a rally near Hwangridan-gil in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 30. [NEWS1]
As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Korea on Thursday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, an animal rights group held a demonstration in downtown Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, calling for improved living conditions for Fu Bao, the beloved panda now back in China.
Around 15 members of the group gathered near Hwangridan-gil in Gyeongju, at noon, demanding better welfare for Fu Bao, who currently resides at the Shenshuping base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan Province.
“The Fu Bao we see at the Shenshuping facility does not look well,” the group said in a statement. “She continues to suffer from hair loss and muscle spasms, and has unexplained wounds on her body that ooze fluid.”
While acknowledging that Fu Bao’s return to Korea is impossible under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the group called for improved conditions. “We want Fu Bao to live in a healthy environment with sufficient food and clean water,” they said. “We hope she can be moved from the breeding base to a top-tier zoo within China.”
The group said it plans to continue demonstrations in Gyeongju through Friday, the final day of the APEC summit, under the slogan “A Sustainable World Where Humans and Animals Coexist.”
Fu Bao was born on July 20, 2020, through natural breeding between Le Bao and Ai Bao — a pair of pandas China sent to Korea as a symbol of friendship. Before returning to China in April 2024, Fu Bao lived at Everland in Yongin, where she gained national affection and nicknames such as “Princess Fu” and “Miss Fu of Yongin.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)