HK$700K on Panda Naming Competition

An An and Ke Ke are the newest attractions at Ocean Park

The pair of pandas that have created panda-monium at Ocean Park are keeping their original names despite the government spending HK$700,000 for a naming competition.

On July 1, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced Beijing would gift Hong Kong a pair of giant pandas to Ocean Park. They were named An An and Ke Ke.

But the authorities decided to get the public to "exercise creativity and suggest meaningful new names for the giant pandas that highlight their characteristics." 

The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (up until recently under Kevin Yeung Yun-hung) spent the HK$700,000 on building a website for the competition, have advertisements posted in MTR stations and on the internet, and procure prizes for the winners.

Hong Kong residents submitted 22,600 names, but in the end the judges (who did this job on a voluntary basis), chose the winner, a man who suggested the pandas keep their original names.

Groan.

He told reporters that he was a "panda lover" and had read that it was difficult for pandas to get used to new names after the age of five. An An and Ke Ke are both five-years old.

The winner received prizes worth HK$47,320, including a tourbillon watch valued at HK$36,800, and membership and vouchers for Ocean Park.

Merit prizes were handed out to eight rejected names.

The newly appointed culture minister Rosanna Law Shuk-pui defended the naming contest when a reporter asked if it had been a waste of taxpayer money if the pandas were not renamed.

"When [the results] were announced... there was a round of applause," she said. "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."

Wait -- so does that mean the majority of the suggestions were to keep the original names? Then why did that man win a watch? Was this a vote or a naming competition? 

"An An" means a peaceful and stable future for Hong Kong, while "Ke Ke" suggests unlimited possibilities for the city.