Panda Tuan Tuan, symbol of reunion with China, dies in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Tuan Tuan, one of two giant pandas gifted to Taiwan from China, died Saturday after a brief illness, the Taipei Zoo said. No cause of death was immediately given, but earlier reports said the panda was believed to have a malignant brain tumor, prompting China to send a pair of experts to Taiwan earlier this month to help with his treatment. Tuan Tuan and his mate, Yuan Yuan, were gifted to the zoo in 2008 during a time of warming relations between China and Taiwan, which split amid civil war in 1949.