Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to Pakistan has been replete with flowery rhetoric extolling mutual love between both countries, but the name chosen for a new joint think tank has left some social media users in titters.
Dedicated to research on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a $46 billion dollar plan linking China’s restive west to the Arabian Sea, the newly inaugurated Research and Development International (RANDI) organisation has been widely pilloried because its acronym sounds like “whore” in Urdu and Hindi.
Social media users, including many from India — Islamabad and Beijing’s historic rival — have latched on to name as a form of commentary on Sino-Pak relations, saying the South Asian country has now been ‘bought’ by China.
“Well, that’s an unfortunate name for a think tank…” tweeted Fatima Bhutto, a writer and political activist, in one of the more understated responses.
According to a press release, the think tank will be co-headed by Madame Zhao Baige, a member of China’s parliament, and Mushahid Hussain, a Pakistani opposition senator.
“The new think tank is the first joint initiative of China and Pakistan which will be dedicated to research on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” said Mushahid, who added it was associated with the prestigious Tsinghua University.
The economic corridor will create a network of roads, railways and pipelines linking China’s restive west to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan as part of Beijing’s plans to expand its trade and transport footprint across Central and South Asia.
The project dwarfs previous efforts to assist Pakistan’s underperforming economy, but analysts have cautioned that the lion’s share of the returns would likely go to China.
Some of the tweets mocking the name can be viewed here:
"Well, that's an unfortunate name for a think tank...," Fatima Bhutto, a well known Pakistani poet and writer, tweeted.
"It took joint Pak-Chinese imagination to produce this marvellous 5-letter disaster of Acronymological proportions," tweeted Shekhar Gupta a well known Indian journalist.
It took joint Pak-Chinese imagination to produce this marvellous 5-letter disaster of ACRONYMOLOGICAL proportions http://t.co/6CnBtSncj8
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) April 20, 2015
Jishy @ mscofpuppets
And the Headquarters of #RANDI will be - LaWhore !
Ankuuuuu @Miss_Ankiita
R.A.N.D.I
Research and Development International
Go home Pakistan .. YOU ARE DRUNK
Sorabh Pant @hankypanty
Not surprised that China and Pakistan's economic think tank is called RANDI.
China has always been a Red Light Area.
#MaoZeDONG
Kroor Singh @doubtinggaurav
Breaking:Pak has decided to rename Research And Dev Int (R.A.N.D.I) now it will be called Chinese Active Alliance CHIN.A.AL
Chandan Sadhu @chandansadhu
#Pakistan is now officially #China's #RANDI
Hetal @Wiseywoman
Chinese and Pakistani thinkers will be working for RANDI. Lulz..
NumbYaar @NumbYaar
That awkward moment when a think tank does not even think its name through. #RANDI
Rahul Garewal @rahulgarewal
I can understand China's linguistic limitations but what was #Pakistan thinking while #RANDI was being conceived.
Manish Chauhan @manishwebmaster
After #RANDI, Next joint venture between Pak and China will be #DALLA: Defense Academy for Long Lasting Alliance!!
The #RANDI think tank is indeed making everyone think as deep as they possibly could
— Haroon Hayat (@Rjharoon) April 21, 2015It's highly offensive think tank. #RANDI
— Nazrana Yousufzai (@NazranaYusufzai) April 20, 2015
