It's not that we (or at least for me) think it'll offend Chinese. My personal contentions with Pandaren stem from their origins as a joke race. That's what they originally were: anthropomorphoc pandas in samurai gear who loved beer. A nice easter egg.

Then out of left field Blizzard expects us to consider Pandaren an actual race, actually present in the world with real lore. It's just so.... desperte feeling. Like they were scrapng the bottom of the barrel and managed to fish up Pandaren. Whether or not that's true, that's what it feels like.

Some people accept the Pandaren because they're cute or wish fulfillmemt, and good for them! I mean it. But I'm going to look at Pandardn in game, and all I'm going to see is pandas dressed in kimonos or monk robes, and I just won't be able to take them seriously. Any story they're involved in will just seem like a drawn out joke that stopped being funny a while ago. And for someone who plays WoW primarily for the story, that REALLY sucks :(

And for everyone who keeps saying "Get over it, we have space goats and moomen, why are pandas such a big deal?" just stop saying that! It's fallacious and it drives me nuts. Its like saying "Let's throw gas on the fire, I mean it's already burning right?" Not to mention, Tauren and Draenei are UNIQUE races with years of established lore. Pandas are fuedal Chinese people. It's not a relevant comparison. /rant