Lee Ji-yeon, 43, who owns a Chinese restaurant near the Chinese Embassy in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul, came out to take a picture with her cell phone on July 27. In front of the embassy's gate was a white 1-ton truck sent by Fubao’s fans. A 3-meter-wide by 1.6-meter-tall billboard mounted on the side of the truck read, “China must explain suspicion of Fubao entertaining ,and being abused!” Lee said, “I spent the weekend in hell after hearing about the alleged abuse of Fubao. I just wanted Fubao to be happy in her life, and it breaks my heart to think about how hard and scary it must have been for her.”
Users of the online community, Fubao Gallery have been going on truck demonstrations since the day. The protest was in response to the alleged poor treatment of Fubao, a giant panda who left South Korea for China. The truck traveled from the Chinese Embassy to the Chinese Cultural Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The truck's billboard repeatedly displayed phrases such as, “You said she is a national treasure. But how come you made it entertain the audience? Explain the truth about the allegation.” and, “I trusted you would treat her like a princess. However, is it true that you made it entertain?”
The suspicions of Fu Bao's mistreatment began in earnest last weekend. On April 24, a series of photos that appeared to be close-ups of Fu Bao went viral on Chinese social networking site XIAOHONGSHU. Among the photos, there was a scene where she seemed to be touched by bare hands. There were also photos of what appeared to be marks on Fubao's body from what appeared to be a leash. The suspicion is that Fubao, which is not yet open to the public, is secretly entertaining people from outside the country and that the pandas are being mistreated in the process.
In response to the controversy, China conservation and research center for giant pandas issued a statement on May 25, saying that “no non-employees were found to have entered the enclosure to touch, feed, or take pictures of Fubao.”
But the suspicions didn't go away. On April 26, the organization started raising money for the truck protest, and within a day, it had raised enough money to keep the protest on the road for four days. “The (Chinese government's) public explanation is not detailed, and they block people who ask for clarification, and then they maintain the attitude that it's groundless,” said Na Kyung-min, 25, deputy manager of Fubao Gallery.
The Fu Bao fans are also organizing an international petition. On change.org, one of the international petition sites, more than 39,000 people had signed the petition as of 3 p.m. today.
Many fans are planning to go on a “Fubao tour” in June, when Fubao is expected to open to the public, or in July, on Fubao's birthday. “If there is no explanation, I will be heartbroken even if I go to see him,” said Lee Sun-hwa, 53. “I won't go to China to meet Fubao unless there is an explanation,” said Na. I don't want to contribute to the profits of Panda Base in China.”