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Democrats are spending $20 million on a study examining how to speak to ‘American men’ after losing ground with the demographic during the 2024 election cycle, The New York Times revealed. 

‘Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan’ is a $20 million project crafted by Democrats to ‘study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces’ of male voters, the Times reported Sunday. 

Known as ‘SAM,’ the study will specifically examine young male voters and how the party can connect with the demographic. Additionally, the study advised rolling out pro-Democrat ads in video games. 

The study’s revelation was made in an overarching article detailing the uphill battle Democrats face after the 2024 election, which included Democrats scrambling to replace former President Joe Biden as the nominee with just more than 100 days left in the election cycle and ultimately delivering all seven battleground states to President Donald Trump. 

‘The Democratic Party’s tarnished image could not come at a more inopportune moment,’ the article detailed. ‘In this era of political polarization, the national party’s brand is more important and influential than ever, often driving the outcomes of even the most local of races.’ 

In response, Democrat operatives and donors have gathered at swank hotels to craft plans on how to draw back the working class and male voters, the Times reported. 

Trump made big in-roads with the male vote during the 2024 election cycle. A Fox News Voter Survey published in November 2024 found that men aged 18–44 supported Trump at 53%, compared to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 45%. 

While The Associated Press found that more than half of male voters under the age of 30 voted for Trump instead of Harris — including roughly six-in-10 White male voters supporting Trump — about one-third of Black male voters supported Trump, as did about 50% of young Latino male voters. 

Trump’s support among young Black and Latino male voters jumped by about 20% compared to his 2020 support, the AP reported. 

Democratic strategist Michael Ceraso told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he does not take issue with Democrats investing in voter engagement strategies but added that he found it ‘hilarious’ that ‘people in suits are hanging out at luxury hotels asking how they can talk to day-to-day Americans.’

‘We’re having an issue with the messenger more than the message,’ Ceraso said, arguing that voters support longstanding Democratic policies such as affordable housing, but that ‘Democrats just need to take a reality check’ on how they convey their messaging to voters. 

‘I just don’t understand how, after all these years and all these Democrats who’ve been in the game, how we continue to make those same choices,’ he added. ‘Like Rahm Emmanuel, or all these sort of big names, they’re just like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to figure out how to win in, you know, rural North Carolina by hanging out in a New York hotel.’ That makes no sense to me. And strategically, I don’t care how much money you spend on focus groups, if you’re doing that, you’re just negating any type of investment you’re putting into how to have a conversation with voters.’ 

Democrats spending millions studying American male ‘syntax’ sparked condemnation from conservatives and Democrats alike on social media, Fox News Digital found. 

‘Democratic donors treating men like an endangered species on a remote island they need to study probably won’t rebuild trust,’ MSNBC contributor Rotimi Adeoy posted to X in response to the Times’ report. ‘This kind of top-down, anthropological approach misses the point: people don’t want to be decoded, they want to be understood and met where they are.’ 

‘The idea that you can ‘fix’ the male voter problem that exists with Black, Latino, and white men by spending $20 million to study their syntax like they’re a foreign culture is exactly why there’s a disconnect,’ Adeoy continued. ‘These voters aren’t a research subject. They’re citizens.’ 

Chief political analyst at the Liberal Patriot, Michael Baharaeen, posted to X, ‘This really says it all,’ in response to a tweet quoting the article regarding how ‘Democratic donors and strategists have been gathering at luxury hotels to discuss how to win back working-class voters, commissioning new projects that can read like anthropological studies of people from faraway places.’

‘The fact that Democrats need to drop $20 million just to figure out how to speak to American men tells you everything you need to know. This is the same move they pull on black people. They don’t care about you they only care about your vote!’ conservative podcaster DeVory Darkins posted to X. 

‘Democratic donors are planning to spend $20 million to figure out how to talk to dudes,’ polster Frank Luntz posted to X. 

A handful of critics reposted a video from the 2024 campaign cycle that featured men declaring they were ‘man enough’ to support Harris for president. The grassroots ad went viral in October 2024 as social media commenters panned it as ‘the cringiest political ad ever created’ and pointed out it was created by a former producer for Jimmy Kimmel and featured actors vowing support for Harris. 

The video featured six self-described manly men who claimed they were so masculine that they ate ‘carburetors for breakfast’ and were not ‘afraid of bears,’ while adding they also do not fear women and would support Harris for the Oval Office.

‘Remember the month before the election and Democrats tried to relate to men?. Now they’re trying again spending $20 million,’ one social media commenter posted this week, accompanied by the October 2024 video. 

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Alex Thompson, co-author of the recently released exposé on former President Joe Biden, told Fox News Sunday that top aides ‘rationalized’ doing ‘undemocratic’ things to hide the president’s cognitive decline, because failing to do so would have been too beneficial to Donald Trump. 

During an interview with ‘Fox News Sunday’s’ Shannon Bream, Thompson was asked whether any officials close to Biden, such as his cabinet secretaries, expressed remorse for their potential complicity in covering up Biden’s health.

‘There was definitely a lot of self-reflection about what — if anything — they should have done differently,’ Thompson said. 

‘I think there was a feeling — like a lot of members of the Democratic Party that were seeing this, or saw moments of [Biden] seeming out of it — that going public wasn’t going to change his mind. It was only going to help Donald Trump. And I think that’s how a lot of them rationalized it.’ 

‘Now, whether or not history will judge them as being right for doing that, we will see. But this is also part of the reason why the White House was shielding [Biden] from as many people as possible, including cabinet secretaries.’

Bream went on to question Thompson about an aide he spoke to who said Biden ‘just had to win and then could disappear’ because Biden’s ‘aides could pick up the slack.’ Bream described the quote as essentially ‘admitting’ Biden shouldn’t be running again.

‘Who would have been running the White House in a second Biden term?’ Bream asked Thompson.

‘Well, this person went on to say, ‘When you’re voting for president, you’re voting for the aides around him.’ But these aides were not even Senate confirmed aides – these were White House aides, these were unelected people.’ Thompson replied. ‘One of the things that really comes out in our reporting here is that if you believe — and I do think a lot of these people do sincerely believe that Donald Trump was and is an existential threat to democracy — you can rationalize anything, including sometimes doing undemocratic things — which I think is what this person was talking about.’

Thompson and CNN’s Jake Tapper have been doing the rounds discussing and promoting their new book titled ‘Original Sin,’ which has garnered a lot of attention for detailing what critics have said shows Biden’s cognitive decline while he was in the White House was even worse than most people suspected. 

The book has been compounded by other revelations showing Biden’s cognitive abilities were likely hidden from the public by those closest to him.

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U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with Argentine President Javier Milei on Tuesday at the Casa Rosada, where both leaders reaffirmed plans to withdraw their nations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and build a new international health framework.

The meeting brought together two strong-willed political outsiders. Milei, a libertarian economist known for cutting government spending, and Kennedy, a Trump-appointed health chief skeptical of pandemic-era mandates. Both promised to challenge what they call global overreach and politicized health policy.

Argentina officially confirmed its exit from the WHO during Kennedy’s visit, following Milei’s initial announcement in February. The move aligns with President Trump’s revived pledge to pull the U.S. out of the WHO as part of his ‘Make America Healthy Again’ (MAHA) agenda.

Milei’s government blasted the WHO for what it called a failed COVID response. ‘The WHO’s prescriptions do not work because they are not based on science but on political interests and bureaucratic structures that refuse to review their own mistakes,’ the government said, referring to the group’s lockdown strategy as a ‘caveman quarantine.’

Kennedy offered support, encouraging other countries to also exit the WHO in a recent address to the World Health Assembly. He has argued the organization is compromised by foreign governments and corporate interests, and that a fresh approach is needed.

After the meeting, Kennedy posted on X: ‘I had a wonderful meeting with President Milei about the mutual withdrawal of our nations from the WHO and the creation of an alternative international health system… free from totalitarian impulses, corruption, and political control.’

Both governments say the new alliance will prioritize real science, individual freedom, and national sovereignty, pushing back against what Milei’s team calls ‘interference’ from global agencies.

The meeting also highlighted shared philosophies between the two leaders. Milei took office vowing to slash Argentina’s massive public spending. He famously carried a chainsaw during his campaign to symbolize budget cuts—and has since followed through, cutting public salaries, halting state projects, and ending energy subsidies.

His tough measures have produced results: Argentina posted its first budget surplus in nearly 15 years and sharply reduced monthly inflation.

Kennedy’s MAHA campaign echoes Milei’s anti-establishment style, but in the health sector. The Trump administration’s health agenda has focused on rolling back federal overreach, enforcing science-based policy, and promoting transparency in public health.

Tuesday’s meeting marks a deeper alignment between Argentina and the current U.S. administration. Milei has welcomed top American officials in recent months and shown clear interest in building strong ties with Washington. Now, by joining the U.S. in rejecting the WHO, Milei becomes the first foreign leader to openly back Trump’s health sovereignty push.

The decision is a major departure from Argentina’s previous international partnerships and could signal a shift for other countries weighing similar moves. Both Milei and Kennedy have framed the initiative as the start of a more accountable and independent global health network.

Critics, including some in Argentina’s opposition, warn that leaving the WHO could limit access to funding and vaccines. Global health experts largely defend the WHO’s role, despite acknowledging its COVID missteps.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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U.S. President Donald Trump purported on Tuesday that Canada was ‘considering’ giving up its statehood in exchange for protection by the proposed ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system at no cost, despite Canadian officials repeatedly stating that the country is not for sale.

‘I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.

‘They are considering the offer!’ he claimed.

Trump has threatened in recent months to annex Canada, an idea fiercely rebuked by Canadian officials and their citizens.

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, who secured an election win last month in part due to Canadians’ opposition to Trump’s wish to make the country part of the U.S., told Trump earlier this month that his country ‘won’t be for sale, ever.’

King Charles III, who is recognized as Canada’s sovereign, gave a speech before the Canadian Parliament on Tuesday in which he appeared to reject Trump’s idea of purchasing the North American country and making it the 51st U.S. state.

‘Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away,’ he said. ‘And that, by staying true to Canadian values, Canada can build new alliances and a new economy that serves all Canadians.’

As for the ‘Golden Dome,’ Trump announced last week that the U.S. had officially selected the architecture for the missile defense system that would create a network of satellites to detect, track and potentially intercept incoming ballistic missiles.

The U.S. president said the project would cost $175 billion to build and that it was expected to be ‘fully operational’ within three years. He also said Canada would be included in its safety net.

‘Canada has called us, and they want to be a part of it. So we’ll be talking to them; they want to have protection also,’ Trump said at the time.

Carney’s office said last week that there were ‘active discussions’ between the U.S. and Canada on current and new security programs, including the ‘Golden Dome.’

‘Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States,’ a spokesperson for Carney told BBC News.

‘To that end, the prime minister and his ministers are having wide-ranging and constructive discussions with their American counterparts. These discussions naturally include strengthening [North American Aerospace Defense Command] and related initiatives such as the Golden Dome,’ the spokesperson continued.

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An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier released during a ceasefire-hostage deal has said one of her biggest fears during captivity were strikes carried out by Israel.

Na’ama Levy, one of five IDF female soldiers released in January, made the comments during a weekly rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square on Sunday demanding the return of hostages.

“They (strikes) come unexpectedly. At first you hear the whistles, you pray that it won’t fall on us, and then – the explosions, a noise so loud that it paralyzes the body, and the ground shakes,” Levy told a crowd of thousands.

“Every time, I was sure that this was the end of me. It was one of the scariest things I experienced there and that’s also what endangered me more than anything,” she continued, describing an incident where a strike caused the house she was in to partially collapse.

“That was my reality. It’s their reality now,” she said, referring to those still in captivity.

“Even now, at this very moment, there are hostages who hear those whistles and explosions, they’re there trembling with fear. They have nowhere to run, only to pray and cling to the walls with a terrible feeling of helplessness.”

The comments from Levy come as the families of Israeli captives held in Gaza intensify their criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and as Israel comes under growing pressure to end the war in Gaza.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu said that defeating Israel’s enemies is the “supreme objective” and more important than securing the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza – drawing backlash from representatives of hostage families.

Levy urged for the return of all Israeli hostages, saying there will be “no victory” otherwise.

“There’s no way in (Israel) they really understand what we’re going through and are still leaving us in Gaza.”

In the early months of the war, another Israeli hostage expressed similar fears of being killed by Israeli strikes, Israeli media outlet Ynet reported, based on audio it said was leaked from a meeting between released hostages, their families, and Netanyahu.

The fear was that “it would not be Hamas, but Israel, that would kill us, and then they would say Hamas killed you,” said the hostage, who was released in one of the first deals.

Levy’s comments on Sunday also came after Netanyahu appointed a new chief for the country’s Shin Bet security agency on Friday, Maj. Gen David Zini, who has reportedly voiced opposition to hostage deals. The families of hostages have blasted the choice.

According to Israel’s Channel 12 News, Zini said in meetings of IDF general staff: “I oppose hostage deals. This is a forever war.” The report does not provide a specific date for Zini’s comments. Channel 12 says it was a position he repeated often over the past year.

“If the report is accurate, these are shocking statements, worthy of unequivocal condemnation, especially coming from someone who is expected to hold the fate of the hostages in his hands,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement at the time.

In his previous position as the head of the Training Command and General Staff Corps in the IDF, Zini had little influence on hostage negotiations. But as head of the Shin Bet, he could have a significant role considering the agency’s participation in previous rounds of indirect negotiations with Hamas.

“Appointing a Shin Bet chief who prioritizes (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s war over the return of the hostages is a sin upon a crime and an injustice to the entire people of Israel – a blow to the value of solidarity and the sacred duty to leave no one behind,” the forum said.

In recent weeks, Israel has come under growing pressure to end the war in Gaza as the enclave faces widespread starvation amid a severe shortage of humanitarian aid.

The United Kingdom has paused trade talks and sanctioned extremist settlers in the West Bank. Canada and France have threatened sanctions. And the European Union – Israel’s biggest trade partner – is reviewing its landmark Association Agreement with the country. In the words of one Israeli minister, their patience has worn thin over Israel’s decision to expand the war.

The kidnapping of Levy emerged as one of the first to make headlines as the Hamas-led October 7 attack unfolded.

Video released by Hamas showed Levy, who was aged 19 at the time, being dragged by her hair at gunpoint with her hands bound.

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An Austrian appeals court has overturned conservative former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s recent perjury conviction and the resulting eight-month suspended prison sentence, news agency APA reported on Monday.

The ruling removes Kurz’s only criminal conviction, taking away a serious obstacle to a future political comeback for the 38-year-old, although prosecutors have yet to decide whether to charge him over potential corruption-related offenses in a separate investigation that forced him from office in 2021.

The court was not immediately available for comment. Kurz denies all wrongdoing.

“I have been confronted with accusations for years. There have been numerous court hearings – a huge amount of confrontation with these accusations. You have all witnessed how much this has been celebrated and that it has now all collapsed,” he said outside the court.

The case centered on whether Kurz was merely kept informed of deliberations on the appointment of executives for newly created state holding company OBAG when he was chancellor, or was in fact making the decisions. The appointments were formally his finance minister’s responsibility.

Kurz testified to a parliamentary commission of inquiry in 2020 that he was “involved in the sense of informed.” The judge who heard the case at first instance ruled that was not true and Kurz played an active role.

“What has come out is what I have always said, namely that I did not tell any untruths in the committee of inquiry,” Kurz said.

Kurz has left the Austrian People’s Party (OVP) and quit politics but some individuals within the OVP hope he will return if there is a change of party leadership, even though polling suggests the majority of Austrians do not want him to stage a comeback.

Kurz led his party to election victories in 2017 and 2019 by adopting a hard line on immigration similar to that of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which won the last parliamentary election in September.

He now works as a consultant and tech entrepreneur and says he is happy in his new career.

Having come second in the last election, the OVP leads the current three-party centrist coalition government headed by OVP Chancellor Christian Stocker.

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French President Emmanuel Macron’s office moved swiftly on Monday to defuse attention around a viral video showing his wife Brigitte pushing his face away as they deplaned in Vietnam for the first leg of a Southeast Asia tour.

The short clip shows the aircraft door opening with Macron appearing in the doorway. Seconds later, both of Brigitte Macron’s hands reach from the side and presses against the president’s face in what looks like a sudden shove.

Macron appears momentarily surprised but quickly regains his composure and waves to the press outside.

As the couple descend the steps, Macron offers Brigitte his arm, which she does not take, opting instead to hold the railing.

The Élysée initially denied the incident on the plane, before later moving to downplay its significance.

It was a “moment of togetherness,” according to an Élysée source.

“No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,” the source added, saying pro-Russian trolls were quick to spin the moment into controversy.

Macron has been at the forefront of efforts to agree a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

The incident in Hanoi comes as Macron faces another swirl of online disinformation. Earlier this month the Élysée dismissed as “fake news” a viral claim – amplified by Kremlin officials – that the French president was using cocaine aboard a train to Kyiv alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The rumor, traced back to pro-Russian accounts, falsely claimed a crumpled tissue Macron picked up was a cocaine bag. The Élysée posted a rebuttal online with the caption: “This is a tissue. For blowing your nose… When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation makes a simple tissue look like drugs.”

The Kremlin’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova fueled the claim, suggesting the scene was part of a wider European dysfunction. French officials condemned the campaign as part of ongoing efforts by Moscow to weaken Western unity on Ukraine and manipulate peace discussions through false narratives and social media manipulation.

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“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him,” observed US President Donald Trump, reacting to the intensive Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine over the weekend.

In fact, the Kremlin leader seems pretty much unchanged, despite the urgings of the White House, merely continuing his policy of grinding war in Ukraine, in which aerial assaults have become an all-too-regular feature.

The real question is whether Trump has changed, or at least if his attitude toward Putin has started to shift amid what looks like an increasingly futile US effort to forge peace in Ukraine, something Trump bragged he could do – let’s not forget – in short order.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, certainly thinks a mental corner has been turned, telling reporters in Vietnam that Trump’s latest rebuke of his Russian counterpart as “absolutely CRAZY” means the US president “realizes” that Putin has “lied” on the war in Ukraine, adding that he hopes Trump’s words will “translate into action.”

But the record suggests otherwise.

This is the sixth time this term that Trump, who consistently says he has a strong relationship with Putin, has publicly expressed impatience or downright annoyance with the Kremlin boss.

Back in March, Trump revealed he was “pissed off” with Putin for refusing to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.

In April, Trump demanded “Vladimir STOP,” after a Russian missile strike on Kyiv left a dozen people dead.

“Maybe he doesn’t really want to stop the war and is just tapping me along,” Trump mused later.

The Trump scoldings have been routinely accompanied by expressions of personal disappointment and threats of possible retaliation, like secondary tariffs on “all oil coming out of Russia,” or unidentified “further sanctions.”

Asked again, after the latest rebuke of Putin, whether he would now consider putting more sanctions on Russia, Trump replied: “Absolutely.”

So far, there has been no real sign that Trump is prepared to use the substantial economic leverage at his disposal to force the Kremlin to rethink its hardline stance.

Not so in the US Senate, where a cross-party bill has been introduced to make it more difficult for Russia to fund its war.

The bill, now backed by 81 senators, not only proposes more direct sanctions on Russia, but also secondary sanctions, such as a massive 500% tariff on countries that buy Russian energy.

But the measures, which would seriously impact an already fragile and oil-dependent Russian economy, are super-controversial as they would also punish China, India and the European Union, which are all still major Russian energy consumers.

It is, of course, possible that Trump could now throw his weight behind the bill, or perhaps a watered-down version of it. But that would be a huge change in direction, given his consistent reluctance to confront and punish the Kremlin so far.

More likely, the latest upsurge in violence in Ukraine may further convince an already frustrated US president that he is simply unable to bring the warring parties together any time soon.

And, amid all his anger and bluster about Putin, Trump may simply choose to walk away.

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Britain’s King Charles III will arrive in Canada on Monday for his first visit as its head of state, where he’ll carry out a highly-symbolic whistle-stop trip that will be seen by many as a show of support following increasingly frayed relations between Ottawa and Washington.

During his two-day visit, Charles, 76, will deliver a speech in Canada’s parliament and celebrate the country’s cultural heritage and diversity, according to Buckingham Palace. He will be accompanied by his wife, Queen Camilla.

The monarch — who is still undergoing treatment for cancer — will attend the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday, where he will deliver the ceremonial “Speech from the Throne” to the Senate chamber. The address marks the second time that the sovereign has opened parliament.

The parliamentary address is typically delivered by the governor general, the British monarch’s representative in Canada.

The timing of Charles’ visit is notable as it comes as US President Donald Trump persistently references his desire to make Canada the 51st state and touts false claims that the Canadian public likes the idea of being annexed by the United States. In fact, the proposal is overwhelmingly unpopular among Canadians as a whole.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who rose to power on a tide of anti-Trump sentiment in March, has repeatedly denounced the US president’s remarks. In his election victory speech, Carney warned that Canada would never yield to Trump’s relentless provocations.

Carney doubled down on that message last month during an exchange with Trump in the Oval Office.

“As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Carney told Trump, adding: “(Canada) is not for sale. It won’t be for sale, ever.”

Ahead of Charles’ trip to Ottawa, Canada’s envoy to the United Kingdom, Ralph Goodale, told reporters the king will “reinforce” that same directive, according to Reuters.

“The prime minister (Carney) has made it clear that Canada is not for sale now, is not for sale ever,” Goodale told journalists last week.

“The king, as head of state, will reinforce the power and strength of that message,” Goodale said.

An ‘impactful’ visit

Charles will also need to walk a careful diplomatic tightrope as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks a stronger relationship with Trump over Ukraine and as he continues to pursue economic and trade guarantees.

Carney said last week that his compatriots “weren’t impressed” after Charles extended a second state invitation to the US president. Trump would be the first elected political leader in modern times to be hosted twice by a British monarch.

“It was at a time when we were being quite clear about the issues around sovereignty,” Carney said.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are “mindful” of the gravity of their upcoming visit, Buckingham Palace said, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency.

“The King and Queen are very much looking forward to the programme, mindful that it is a short visit but hopefully an impactful one,” PA reported, citing a palace spokesperson.

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Hong Kong’s first locally born giant pandas have finally been named and introduced as Jia Jia and De De.

The names of the cubs, affectionately known as “Elder Sister” and “Little Brother,” were announced Tuesday in a ceremony at Ocean Park, the theme park housing them, their parents and two other giant pandas that arrived from mainland China last year.

The names were the winning suggestions from residents in a naming contest that drew more than 35,700 entries.

The Chinese character “Jia,” from the female cub’s name “Jia Jia,” carries a message of support and features an element of family and a sense of auspicious grace. The name embodies the prosperity of families and the nation and the happiness of the people, the park said.

The Chinese character “De,” from the male cub’s name, means to succeed, carrying the connotation that Hong Kong is successful in everything. De also has the same pronunciation as the Chinese character for virtue, the park said, suggesting giant pandas possess virtues cherished by Chinese people.

Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong said they followed tradition by using Mandarin pronunciation for the pandas’ English names. He said “Jia” sounds like a word in the Cantonese term for elder sister, while “De De” sounds a bit like the Cantonese phrase for little brother. Cantonese is the mother language of many Hong Kongers.

“It’s a very positive pair of names,” he said. “We have to be a bit creative here with the names.”

The twins’ birth in August made their mother, Ying Ying, the world’s oldest first-time panda mom. Their popularity among residents, visitors and on social media raised hopes for a tourism boost in the city, where politicians touted the commercial opportunities as the “panda economy.”

Observers are watching whether housing six pandas helps the park revive its business, especially when caring for the animals in captivity is expensive. Ocean Park recorded a deficit of 71.6 million Hong Kong dollars ($9.2 million) last financial year.

The park recorded a nearly 40% growth in visitor flow and 40% increase in overall income during a five-day holiday beginning May 1 in mainland China, said Pong, who hopes the growth momentum will continue through summer, Halloween and Christmas seasons.

Pandas are considered China’s unofficial national mascot. The country’s giant panda loan program with overseas zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy.

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