Letters | Old names of Hong Kong’s new pandas suit them best

Readers discuss the naming of the bears gifted by Beijing, and an alternative to the city’s branding slogan

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Giant panda An An in its enclosure at Ocean Park on December 8. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 2:30pm, 10 Dec 2024

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Just ahead of the public debut of the two giant pandas gifted to Hong Kong by the central government, it was announced that the bears would retain their original names, An An and Ke Ke. This was the right decision.

The pandas’ names were not so bad as to need changing, be it in terms of their Chinese pronunciation or possible meanings.

The pandas are five years old and have been familiar with their names for a long time. While some may wish to impose their hopes on the pandas by giving them new names, it would be challenging and upsetting for both the animals and their carers to adapt to these unnecessary changes.

Moreover, retaining their original names is a way to respect their birthplace, Sichuan, as well as the carers and experts there who named the pandas.

Though Ocean Park was previously home to a panda named An An which died in 2022, the two can easily be differentiated by referring to the panda currently at the theme park as “the new An An” when necessary.