The Taipei County was formally upgraded to a municipality yesterday, but disagreement remains over its official English

Taipei County was officially upgraded to Xinbei City on December 25th, and the words "Xinbei City Government" were installed over the door of the new city hall. However, the English name of the special municipality is in question.

The Ministry of the Interior is translating the name as "Xinbei City," while Mayor Eric Chu wants to use "New Taipei City."

The new business cards that have been printed up for Taipei County Government officials all say "Xinbei City," and street and bridge signs also bear the name "Xinbei City."

According to the director of the new Xinbei City Information Office, "Xinbei City" does not denote the upgraded status of the municipality, while "New Taipei City" is easy to remember.

The MOI, however, says that standard place names are directly translated from the Chinese name, and that the Xinbei City Government will have to submit an official "Statement of Reason" to the MOI and get MOI approval to change the English name of the municipality to "New Taipei City."