The China National Intellectual Property Administration recently rejected a company’s application for registration, after its owner intended to use a name similar to a vice premier’s first name as a trademark, saying it was “prone to adverse social impact.”

The owner wanted to name his company “Chunhua,” the first name of China’s Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, the United States-funded Radio Free Asia reported on Tuesday. The notice of rejection was dated June 29, 2020.

It is not stated in the report whether the applicant wanted to use the name because of the 57-year-old Hu.

“Chunhua” is a commonly used name in China, RFA said, adding that the name does not necessarily have a correspondence with the vice premier.

The names of Chinese leaders and elites in the Chinese Communist Party, especially General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, have recently become taboo in mainland China. Apart from Chunhua, the character Xi cannot be used to associate anything of negative meaning.

The character “cui” has also been censored by cyberspace authorities after it was found being used to curse Xi. Due to the aggregate nature of Chinese characters, “cui” can be deconstructed into three elements, meaning “Xi Xi Die.”

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