Chinese crackdown on foreign names draws protest

The Manhattan neighbourhood, Venice Garden, the Vienna hotel chain. To the ears of the Chinese government, the names are too foreign-sounding and must go.

Provinces and cities across China have been issuing notices pressuring private and public officials to rename businesses, bridges and neighbourhoods, reflecting renewed efforts by President Xi Jinping's government to "sinicize" China.

The move came to light after Vienna Hotels, which operates 2,500 properties in China, fought back on social media this week, and other users jumped in to ridicule the move.

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs confirmed Friday that the campaign is underway, but said that some local governments are not implementing the new rule accurately.

It maintained though that foreign names have an ugly social influence that needs to be cleaned up.