.健康

Status:	Proposed
Language:	Chinese (Hans/Simplified)
Translates to:	healthy
Manager:	Stable Tone Limited
Registry Provider:	Neustar
Type:	IDN gTLD
Category:	Health
Priority #:	68
More information:

.健康 is an Hans Chinese IDN gTLD, translating to "healthy", being proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is Stable Tone Limited.

Objections

The application recieved two GAC Early Warnings, from France and Mali. The warning system is noted as a strong recommendation on behalf of national governments to the ICANN Board that a given TLD application should be denied as it stands. Applicants are encouraged to work with objecting GAC members.

The applications are nearly identical and state that given the difficulty in promoting international public health, with cohesive legitimate programs and policies, this string has the potential to create consumer harm and confusion with regards to a fundamentally important human need. There is not remediation suggested, and the warnings suggest that the applicant withdraw its application.

ALAC Objections

In mid-February 2013, it was noted that the ALAC had intentions to file a formal objection against .health by the end of the month, stating that "Objection statements on community grounds will be drafted for the applications for .health given that the four tests for community objection grounds were passed." Their constituents argue that the string is a sensitive topic that should be managed carefully with input and management from international health organizations. They note that none of the applicants are community based, and that all of them represent for-profit ventures.

This Mandarin version of .health (.健康), would be included in the ALAC's objections.

Application Details

Excerpted from applicant response to question # 18 in TLD application:

"Stable Tone Limited is applying to become an ICANN accredited Top Level Domain (TLD) registry for the .健康TLD (.jiankang). The .健康TLD is intended to benefit Chinese-speaking internet users by providing a designated and focused namespace for individuals and entities interested in issues related to healthy lifestyles, products and services. The Chinese letters “健康 “translate to ‘healthy’ in English, and are pronounced roughly “Jian-Kang”. The .jiankang TLD is targeted primarily at potential registrants and Internet users in Mainland China, therefore most of the registrations will be in the Chinese language and Simplified Chinese characters. Stable Tone will allow English language second level registrations, though these are seen to constitute a minority of the domains under management (DUM). Stable Tone will enable registration of secondary level Chinese IDN names in .健康TLD and English language ASCII names, by individuals as well as organizations who would like to provide goods and services as well as information related to healthy lifestyles, products and services. The target market is wellness care, leisure care, fitness and sports, healthy food and drink companies. The channel to market is through a specialized sales team that will work with accredited registrars with specific emphasis on the .jiankang (healthy) themed market.

The concept of healthy lifestyle has been intertwined with Chinese culture for thousands of years. Healthy and wellness practices such as dietary therapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine and teas, exercise such as Tai Chi and Qui Gong, and massage such as Tui Na have been a mainstay of Chinese culture and lifestyle for several thousand years. Even though, with a median age of 35.5, the average Chinese is considered somewhat young, interest in and consistent practice of at least one of these healthy lifestyle concepts is widespread.(Source: http:⁄⁄www.indexmundi.com⁄china⁄median_age.html)

[..]

The registration and use of domains within the .健康TLD (.jiankang) will provide stark differentiation from existing competition because Stable Tone intends to focus on premium domains at premium pricing. This model may provide valuable experience for other existing and future registries in pricing their domains. Either way, the model proposed for .健康TLD (.jiankang) marketing and sales will help fulfill one of ICANN’s purposes for the new gTLD program, namely to bring more innovation and experimentation in the domain industry, towards the goal of serving internet users better.

[..]

Stable Tone does intend to set aside some generic names relevant to healthy lifestyle, products and services market in both Chinese IDN and English (ASCII) second level. However, since the business model for this TLD already calls for secondary names to be sold at a high price, Stable Tone has kept any financial projections related to Premium Names to zero."

Top-Level Domain

Governmental Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN's policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues (ICANN Bylaws).

At-Large Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN related to the interests of individual Internet users (ICANN Bylaws). Not to be confused with the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group.

Internationalized Domain Name