Judges at a naming contest chose to retain the original names of Beijing’s gift pandas on Saturday, after Hong Kong residents submitted 22,600 suggestions.
Chief Executive John Lee announced on July 1 that the central government was donating two five-year-old pandas – An An and Ke Ke – to Ocean Park.
This summer, Hongkongers were invited to “exercise creativity and suggest meaningful new names for the giant pandas that highlight their characteristics,” or opt to keep their current names.
At a ceremony on Saturday, Ocean Park announced that the two pandas would not be renamed as it awarded the champion prize to a man who suggested the pandas keep their original names.
The man told reporters after the ceremony that he was a “panda lover” and that he had read that it was difficult for pandas to get used to new names after the age of five.
Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Vivian Sum chaired the judging panel, who were tasked with finding a name that reflected the “young, lovely, and vivacious characteristics of the giant pandas.” Merit prizes were given to eight rejected names.
The city’s largest theme park has put its faith in pandas to boost revenue after it recorded a HK$71.6 million deficit in its latest fiscal year despite the highest number of visitors in five years. It agreed to a HK$2 billion bailout from taxpayers in 2021, to be injected over four years. The city is also banking on a wider “panda craze” to boost the flailing economy.
The park houses Hong Kong’s only panda enclosure, now home to six pandas.
Rosanna Law, the newly appointed culture minister, defended the naming contest when asked by a reporter on Sunday if it had been a waste of taxpayer money as the pandas were not renamed.
“When [the results] were announced… there was a round of applause,” Chan said in Cantonese. “I think if we did not have this competition, we would not know that majority of the participants felt it was better to keep the names An An and Ke Ke.”
Pandas revealed to the public
The two gift pandas debuted to the public on Sunday.
Executive Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Work Office and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Zhou Ji visited the park, alongside Chief Executive John Lee, on Saturday.
Lee said the city was now home to the largest collection of pandas outside of mainland China: “The giant pandas mean a lot to Hong Kong in three perspectives. It demonstrates the central government’s support and care to Hong Kong. It also sets an example of successful national conservation work. The giant panda is also an ambassador of both our country and Hong Kong.”
Opened in 1977, Ocean Park is Hong Kong’s largest theme park. It also conducts animal conservation research and boasts around two dozen animal attractions including an alligator marsh, aquariums and an Arctic fox den.
Jason Baker, the Asia vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said in March that pandas were not objects to be gifted for diplomatic purposes: “They are intelligent and social animals that form close bonds with their families and friends.”
In the wild, giant pandas can live between 14 to 20 years, whilst those in captivity can reach 30, according to the Word Wide Fund for Nature.
Another panda named An An, and a female called Jia Jia, were donated by the Chinese government to Hong Kong in 1999 to mark the second anniversary of the Handover. Jia Jia died in 2016, and An An in 2022.
The naming contest is not the first time that residents’ suggestions were turned down. In the run-up to the 1997 Handover, Hongkongers were invited to submit design proposals for the post-colonial flag. All six finalists were rejected by Beijing. A design by architect Tao Ho – one of the panel judges – was eventually adopted.
