Staff are under fire following accusations of mistreatment of giant pandas at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province.

In an online video that went viral, a staff member can be seen pushing, dragging and throwing “Rourou” and “Manman,” the two popular pandas at the research base.

The video has fueled heated discussion, and many are outraged by the mistreatment of the animals, seen as national treasures of China. A post about the incident on microblog Sina Weibo had drawn more than 6,000 comments as of 8 p.m. Thursday.

Authorities at the base Thursday explained what happened during the incident.

Panda keeper Guo Jingpeng said he was feeding milk to some panda cubs on July 12, when one of them suddenly became violent.

“It bit my hand really hard, its teeth cut into the flesh and my hand started bleeding,” Guo said. “When it tried to bite me again, I pushed it away out of instinct.”

Even though it has been two weeks since the incident, Guo’s hand is still scarred by the panda bite.

Guo said when he heard about the viral video and its scathing comments, he felt he had been wronged.

“The over 50-minute video was intentionally edited into less than two minutes of footage,” Guo said.

Another panda keeper, Xie Huhai, said that to the playful pandas, biting is just a way of “having fun,” but “panda fun” could cause injuries to the keepers.

“We often get hurt by the pandas,” Xie said. “Scratches and bites are daily occurrences.”

Pandas can become violent once they reach one or two years old, Guo said.

“When they are happy, they may act normally, but if they experience any external stimulation, they can react quite violently,” he said.

Authorities with the breeding base said they have questioned the staff members involved and taken measures. They demanded all staff treat the pandas more “gently” when the animals try to bite or scratch.

“When we saw the video, we thought the staff members had overreacted, even though they meant no harm to the pandas,” said Wu Kongju, a panda expert at the base. “But we hope people can show more understanding towards the panda keepers, because although giant pandas look cute, they are quite strong and can be violent.”

Many people have agreed with Wu’s explanation.

“Firstly, a panda is a bear, and they can be strong and violent,” said Weibo user Dengzheshouxindehanzi. “They just happen to have a babyface.”

The current giant panda population count, including cubs, is approaching 2,060 and mature adults are estimated to constitute 50.5 percent of that figure, according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2016.

In the Red List of Threatened Species on Sept. 4, 2016, the IUCN reported the giant panda population had improved enough for the endangered species label to be downgraded to “vulnerable.”

However, the threat of declining bamboo resources due to climate change could, in the near future, reverse the gains made during the last two decades, the IUCN warned.

China’s cabinet said Thursday “foreign garbage” will be entirely banned from entering the country as authorities plan stricter management on solid waste imports.

By the end of 2017, the country will forbid imports of solid waste that cause great environmental damage and raise strong public concerns, according to a reform plan on solid waste import management released by the State Council.

By the end of 2019, the country will phase out imports of solid waste that can replaced by domestic resources, the plan said.

The release of the plan came after China notified the World Trade Organization last week that it will ban imports of 24 types of solid waste, including waste plastics, unsorted scrap paper, discarded textiles and vanadium slag by the end of 2017.

China started to import solid waste as raw materials to make up for the domestic shortage of resources in the 1980s, but some companies have illegally smuggled “foreign garbage” into the country for profit, damaging the environment and public health.

China will gradually reduce the categories and amount of solid waste imports and raise the import threshold, according to the plan.

Border control on “foreign garbage” will be intensified, and severe punishment will be imposed on the reselling and illegal processing of imported waste.

A long-term mechanism will be established to kept “foreign garbage” out, while international cooperation on returning the garbage will be enhanced, the plan said.

The Chinese government is stepping up the fight against pollution and environmental degradation as decades of fast growth have left the country saddled with smog and contaminated soil.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) launched a month-long campaign on July 1 to crack down on pollution in imported waste processing, with 420 inspectors selected from 27 provincial regions forming 60 teams to conduct full-scale investigations.

China’s medium-sized and large cities imported 46.98 million tonnes of solid waste in 2015, down 5.3 percent year on year, according to MEP figures.

In 2014, the whole country imported 49.6 million tonnes of solid waste, with scrap paper, plastics and metal taking up large shares, according to the MEP.

China’s cabinet said Thursday “foreign garbage” will be entirely banned from entering the country as authorities plan stricter management on solid waste imports.

By the end of 2017, the country will forbid imports of solid waste that cause great environmental damage and raise strong public concerns, according to a reform plan on solid waste import management released by the State Council.

By the end of 2019, the country will phase out imports of solid waste that can replaced by domestic resources, the plan said.

The release of the plan came after China notified the World Trade Organization last week that it will ban imports of 24 types of solid waste, including waste plastics, unsorted scrap paper, discarded textiles and vanadium slag by the end of 2017.

China started to import solid waste as raw materials to make up for the domestic shortage of resources in the 1980s, but some companies have illegally smuggled “foreign garbage” into the country for profit, damaging the environment and public health.

China will gradually reduce the categories and amount of solid waste imports and raise the import threshold, according to the plan.

Border control on “foreign garbage” will be intensified, and severe punishment will be imposed on the reselling and illegal processing of imported waste.

A long-term mechanism will be established to kept “foreign garbage” out, while international cooperation on returning the garbage will be enhanced, the plan said.

The Chinese government is stepping up the fight against pollution and environmental degradation as decades of fast growth have left the country saddled with smog and contaminated soil.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) launched a month-long campaign on July 1 to crack down on pollution in imported waste processing, with 420 inspectors selected from 27 provincial regions forming 60 teams to conduct full-scale investigations.

China’s medium-sized and large cities imported 46.98 million tonnes of solid waste in 2015, down 5.3 percent year on year, according to MEP figures.

In 2014, the whole country imported 49.6 million tonnes of solid waste, with scrap paper, plastics and metal taking up large shares, according to the MEP.

Chinese authorities said that four of the six Japanese citizens detained in March for “illegal activities” had been released.

Two others are still being held on accusations of stealing China’s classified information.

The six Japanese, either employed by Japan’s NC Geophysical Survey Corporation or Dalian-based He Yuan Hot Spring Development Consultant Company, were found to have conducted illegal surveying activities in east China’s Shandong Province and south China’s Hainan Province in March, without any official registration, qualification or permit.

The two still under investigation are the heads of the two companies.

Investigations show that the two companies had conducted illegal surveys in China more than 30 times in the past 10 years.

Investigators have discovered classified materials on the suspects’ laptops, USB drives and other devices, including more than 80 maps.

Chinese authorities said that four of the six Japanese citizens detained in March for “illegal activities” had been released.

Two others are still being held on accusations of stealing China’s classified information.

The six Japanese, either employed by Japan’s NC Geophysical Survey Corporation or Dalian-based He Yuan Hot Spring Development Consultant Company, were found to have conducted illegal surveying activities in east China’s Shandong Province and south China’s Hainan Province in March, without any official registration, qualification or permit.

The two still under investigation are the heads of the two companies.

Investigations show that the two companies had conducted illegal surveys in China more than 30 times in the past 10 years.

Investigators have discovered classified materials on the suspects’ laptops, USB drives and other devices, including more than 80 maps.