A 25-day-old newborn panda cub at Chimelong Safari Park in south China's Guangzhou was returned to her mother's embrace on Saturday after undergoing its fifth physical examination.
Mengbao, born to Mengmeng who is one of the only giant panda triplets in the world, takes a physical checkup every five days and has apparently changed in the past days. Its originally pink skin has faded, and is gradually developing into the classic black and white panda coloring, as observed during the latest health check before it was reunited with her mother. Mengbao now weighs 940.6 grams, more than doubling its weight in just 10 days.
Throughout the physical checkup, Mengbao slept peacefully and occasionally had hypnic jerks, unconscious muscle twitches commonly seen during sleep.
"Once in a while the panda cub would twitch or jerk a little bit, as she is growing, and growing rapidly. Sometimes she would even let out a sound of 'Ah' in sleep, suggesting her brain is developing quickly, just as we may jerk, twitch, or cry in our dream. This is quite normal for panda babies," said Chen Shuqing, Mengbao's keeper.
After confirming the panda cub is in good health and well developed, Mengbao was returned to her mother Mengmeng. But keepers will still monitor the cub closely.
"We attend them around the clock and would intervene promptly upon spotting any unsafe behavior. For instance, suppose Mengmeng hugs the baby and falls asleep, it is possible she could roll over suddenly and accidentally press the baby underneath her. In that case, we must intervene promptly to get her up, lest the little baby is choked," said Chen.
Baby panda reunited with mother at Guangzhou zoo
More than 100 representatives of the Chinese-Filipino community and descendants of war veterans gathered at Manila's Chinese Cemetery on Tuesday to pay tribute to overseas Chinese who fought against the Japanese occupation during World War II.
The memorial ceremony was also attended by Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian and other officials of the embassy.
Among the attendees was 96-year-old Mike Lu, or Lu Shuiya, a veteran of the Philippine Chinese Anti-Japanese Guerilla Force, known as Wha-Chi in the Philippines. Every year during the Qingming Festival which falls on April 4 this year, he would visit the cemetery to honor his fallen comrades.
"We will not forget, the people will not forget, the motherland will not forget," said Lu in a speech.
Another veteran, 102-year-old Wang Chenli, also participated in the ceremony.
Alongside Ambassador Huang and other dignitaries, the two elderly fighters laid wreaths and bowed in remembrance at the monument dedicated to the Chinese resistance fighters.
Following Japan's occupation of the Philippines in 1942, overseas Chinese in the country set up resistance groups such as the Philippine-Chinese Anti-Japanese Force and the Philippine-Chinese Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces, and latter is also known as Wha-Chi.
Wha-Chi played an impressive role in the fight against Japanese aggressors in over three years of the occupation.
The unit killed, wounded, and captured more than 2,000 enemy troops, at a cost of 77 casualties among its own ranks. After the war, the Chinese-Filipino community erected multiple memorials to commemorate these wartime heroes.
"Many people do not know that the Chinese minority in the Philippines was very fearless and very consistent in resisting Japanese militarism during World War II. We should not forget the war history in order to preserve and uphold peace," said Wilson Lee Flores, a well-known columnist in the Philippines.
Chinese WWII resistance fighters in Philippines commemorated
