Charles J. Dukes, American, editorial consultant:

"Fuwa" captures the sense of the deep love and respect the Chinese people have for young people in China and around the world.

The connotation of "Fu" is a wish for good fortune, luck, blessing and happiness, but also high rank (or achievement) and longevity. "Wa" extends this wish to the newborn, the young, the becoming. Taken together as "Fuwa", these wishes are extended to the young athletes who will participate in the 2008 Olympic Games, to the Chinese people who are emerging onto the world stage in a way never seen before, that is, as something new and evolving, and as a wish for good fortune and harmony to youthful people in the world at large.

As a term, I think Fuwa will be "catchy" and will get more attention from editors around the world than "The Five Friendlies," although the latter also captured a sense of what BOCOG was trying to communicate. Fuwa, of course, is essentially Chinese in its derivation and, thus, has a richer connotation than I think "The Friendlies" could convey.

Chen Lin, Chinese, professor in English language:

Maybe "Friendlies" means too much and it can't make people focus on the Beijing Olympic mascots. "Fuwa" has a stronger Chinese quality. Although it is in Chinese pinyin, it can still easily be remembered by foreign people.

Against:

Ken McManus, American, senior editorial expert:

As a native speaker and someone who works in the media and with the English language, I don't like the change to "Fuwa." The word "Friendlies" was a bit awkward, maybe, but so is any newly coined word or phrase.

The English-speaking media will naturally want to call them "the five Fuwas," with an S, and that sounds worse than "Friendlies." As for the worry that "friendlies" is too close to "friendless," that sounds as if someone at BOCOG had too much time on his hands.

Madhu Chaubey, Indian, company executive:

For something like an Olympic event, where you will have a lot of foreign people coming to Beijing it is better to have an English name for those mascots rather than pinyin.

So I think "Fuwa" is not that good. If you think "Friendlies" easily causes confusion, you could try other English words, like buddies or togetherness.

(China Daily 10/20/2006 page5)