8 ms·

I'm sure this has nothing to do with the name of one particularly popular person.

woutr_be 5y ago
I kind of hate people stating it like this, because when you point out as to why it would be fairly obvious not to use Xi, they'll call you out for pandering towards the CCP. But Xi is a pretty common surname in China, and the virus has already caused enough hatred towards Asians in general, there's no point in fueling it even more.
- option 5y ago
  same arguments/sentiments are a huge impediment in investigating pandemic’s true origin
- willcipriano 5y ago
  From this act alone and I am on board with your explanation, but with this[0] interview from last year I'm leaning in the direction of pandering. [0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlCYFh8U2xM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlCYFh8U2xM
  - freemint 5y ago
    The WHO doesn't decide what it can call country that is done by the united nations, mostly lead by the USA which follows the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-China_policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-China_policy .
    - willcipriano 5y ago
      It would've been a lot less suspicious if that explanation was provided. I don't think he's allowed to even say that.
- beervirus 5y ago
  [flagged]
  - woutr_be 5y ago
    That's again one of those arguments, where it's been set up so that when you disagree, you're sucking up towards the CCP. But, do you think that people who attack or racially abuse Asians because of the virus will care that it's not in the top 200. Xi is a pretty well known name because he's China's leader, and it will most definitely be used against them. Think of it what you want, of course, but to me this is a sensible decision in order not to fuel the already ongoing racism and abuse people have to endure, just because they're from a certain continent.
    - freewilly1040 5y ago
      It’s a sensible decision wrapped in disingenuous spin. The stated reason was that it’s a common name, but it is apparently not. Giving this as the reason rather the abundantly obvious reason is cause for reasonable criticism.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
    - throwawaysea 5y ago
      > But, do you think that people who attack or racially abuse Asians because of the virus will care that it's not in the top 200. Xi is a pretty well known name because he's China's leader, and it will most definitely be used against them. So the fact that a very small number of people may act in undesirable ways means that we all need to walk on eggshells and treat China specially even as the country’s leadership acted in irresponsible ways throughout the pandemic? In short you’re arguing that neutrality (in naming) and accountability (due to origin) are less of a priority because of a small number of bad people? Where does that end? It feels to me a bit like caving into the terrorists’ demands and its logical conclusion seems to be “don’t say anything negative about anyone because someone may do something bad with that sentiment”.
- temp8964 5y ago
  No. Xi is NOT a common surname in China. It's actually a very uncommon one. Stop spreading the misinformation.
  - woutr_be 5y ago
    There's quite a few variants that either sound like Xi, or look very similar. Even if the exact word "Xi" wasn't a common surname, it's a well known one, and will only fuel the ongoing hatred and racism.
    - temp8964 5y ago
      There’s no “even if”. Xi is not a common name, including all the variants. It’s a simple fact, which has nothing to do with your other reasoning.
      - woutr_be 5y ago
        A simple lookup on Wikipedia proves your "simple fact" wrong, so I don't understand what you're arguing against here. As posted by someone else to prove me wrong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames#Mainland_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surname... Xiè is the 23rd most common name, Xià is the 65th most common one. There's plenty of others who are very similar, but the pronunciation will be much different, so I'm skipping those. But when you just need to argue semantics to make your point, perhaps your point isn't that strong at all. And honestly, the spelling of "Xi" has indeed nothing to do with my argument, it was the deeper point that is at issue. I.e. the ongoing abuse towards Asians, naming the virus Xi simply would fuel it.
        temp8964 5y ago
        Xiè and Xià are not variants of Xi. Do you even have basic understanding how Chinese language works?
        woutr_be 5y ago
ErikVandeWater 5y ago
I wouldn't call him "particularly popular"... Maybe "Popular with particular people."
dathinab 5y ago
There are multiple Chinese surnames which map to the Latin letters Xi. Just doing some ad-hoc lookup showed me that here are at-least over 700,000 People with "Xi" as the last name. Not including quite similar names like "Xié". Sure that there is a certain very powerful person with that name, probably mattered in making them rethink if they should use it. Still there being over half a Million people with that name is a sound argument anyway.
mbg721 5y ago
The only rational thing to do is amend all the dictionaries so that the Greek letter has a different English spelling, and erase all evidence of the past. After this year, I expect nothing less.

I kind of hate people stating it like this, because when you point out as to why it would be fairly obvious not to use Xi, they'll call you out for pandering towards the CCP. But Xi is a pretty common surname in China, and the virus has already caused enough hatred towards Asians in general, there's no point in fueling it even more.

option 5y ago
same arguments/sentiments are a huge impediment in investigating pandemic’s true origin
willcipriano 5y ago
From this act alone and I am on board with your explanation, but with this[0] interview from last year I'm leaning in the direction of pandering. [0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlCYFh8U2xM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlCYFh8U2xM
- freemint 5y ago
  The WHO doesn't decide what it can call country that is done by the united nations, mostly lead by the USA which follows the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-China_policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-China_policy .
  - willcipriano 5y ago
    It would've been a lot less suspicious if that explanation was provided. I don't think he's allowed to even say that.
beervirus 5y ago
[flagged]
- woutr_be 5y ago
  That's again one of those arguments, where it's been set up so that when you disagree, you're sucking up towards the CCP. But, do you think that people who attack or racially abuse Asians because of the virus will care that it's not in the top 200. Xi is a pretty well known name because he's China's leader, and it will most definitely be used against them. Think of it what you want, of course, but to me this is a sensible decision in order not to fuel the already ongoing racism and abuse people have to endure, just because they're from a certain continent.
  - freewilly1040 5y ago
    It’s a sensible decision wrapped in disingenuous spin. The stated reason was that it’s a common name, but it is apparently not. Giving this as the reason rather the abundantly obvious reason is cause for reasonable criticism.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - throwawaysea 5y ago
    > But, do you think that people who attack or racially abuse Asians because of the virus will care that it's not in the top 200. Xi is a pretty well known name because he's China's leader, and it will most definitely be used against them. So the fact that a very small number of people may act in undesirable ways means that we all need to walk on eggshells and treat China specially even as the country’s leadership acted in irresponsible ways throughout the pandemic? In short you’re arguing that neutrality (in naming) and accountability (due to origin) are less of a priority because of a small number of bad people? Where does that end? It feels to me a bit like caving into the terrorists’ demands and its logical conclusion seems to be “don’t say anything negative about anyone because someone may do something bad with that sentiment”.
temp8964 5y ago
No. Xi is NOT a common surname in China. It's actually a very uncommon one. Stop spreading the misinformation.
- woutr_be 5y ago
  There's quite a few variants that either sound like Xi, or look very similar. Even if the exact word "Xi" wasn't a common surname, it's a well known one, and will only fuel the ongoing hatred and racism.
  - temp8964 5y ago
    There’s no “even if”. Xi is not a common name, including all the variants. It’s a simple fact, which has nothing to do with your other reasoning.
    - woutr_be 5y ago
      A simple lookup on Wikipedia proves your "simple fact" wrong, so I don't understand what you're arguing against here. As posted by someone else to prove me wrong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames#Mainland_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surname... Xiè is the 23rd most common name, Xià is the 65th most common one. There's plenty of others who are very similar, but the pronunciation will be much different, so I'm skipping those. But when you just need to argue semantics to make your point, perhaps your point isn't that strong at all. And honestly, the spelling of "Xi" has indeed nothing to do with my argument, it was the deeper point that is at issue. I.e. the ongoing abuse towards Asians, naming the virus Xi simply would fuel it.
      - temp8964 5y ago
        Xiè and Xià are not variants of Xi. Do you even have basic understanding how Chinese language works?
        woutr_be 5y ago

ErikVandeWater 5y ago

I wouldn't call him "particularly popular"... Maybe "Popular with particular people."

dathinab 5y ago

There are multiple Chinese surnames which map to the Latin letters Xi. Just doing some ad-hoc lookup showed me that here are at-least over 700,000 People with "Xi" as the last name. Not including quite similar names like "Xié". Sure that there is a certain very powerful person with that name, probably mattered in making them rethink if they should use it. Still there being over half a Million people with that name is a sound argument anyway.

mbg721 5y ago

The only rational thing to do is amend all the dictionaries so that the Greek letter has a different English spelling, and erase all evidence of the past. After this year, I expect nothing less.