Chinese Ministry says “improper” names for places must be rectified

BEIJING - China's Ministry of Civil Affairs has asked local authorities to act prudently in a campaign against improper geographic names, according to a report in Caixin, which said the statement came after recent reports on proposed name corrections of hotels and residential areas in several provinces.

The report says focus of the campaign is names of newly-built residential areas and major projects, "which have had a negative social impact and stirred strong public reactions", the Ministry was quoted as saying.

Caixin says the campaign mainly targets four types of improper toponyms, including those featuring exaggeration, unrelated foreign elements, strange vulgar words and repetitive names. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).