Symbol of reunion with China, panda Tuan Tuan dies in TaipeiTAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — 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.Ties between Beijing and Taipei have declined sharply in the year’s since the pair’s arrival, with China cutting off contacts in 2016 following the election of independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen, who was reelected in 2020.China sends pandas abroad as a sign of goodwill but maintains ownership over the animals and any cubs they produce."