I think this poster on gamefaqs said it best. I cleaned it up a little bit.
That is all.THERE IS NO LAW IN CHINA AGAINST VIRTUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST PANDAS OR ANYTHING SIMILAR
The Chinese Government originally opposed Pandaren because the original concept art had them in Samurai armor (Japanese Armor). Now, China HATES Japan. To them it was the equivalent of having Uncle Sam dressed as a terrorist screaming in Arabic as he bombed the World Trade Center.
Blizzard rectified that and put Pandaren in more "chinese" clothing.
PANDAREN WERE IN WC3 IN CHINA
YOU CAN PLAY AS HUMANOID PANDAS IN GAMES IN CHINA (Perfect World for example)
THERE IS NO LAW IN CHINA AGAINST VIRTUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST PANDAS OR ANYTHING SIMILAR