China braces for ''surname'' reform

Moscow, June 13 (UNI) In an effort to end confusion caused by a large number of identical surnames, the Chinese Public Security Ministry has proposed to change the system of naming newborns, RIA Novosti news agency reported today from Beijing, quoting the local media.

Currently, married people in China do not change their surnames and newborns can take either of their parents' name, although it is traditional to adopt the father's surname.

But this is causing problems because of the total existing 1,600 surnames in the country with a population of 1.3 billion, 85 per cent of Chinese use only 100 of these.

Ninety-two million people have Lee as their last name, and 88 million Chang.

The Ministry has expressed concern about the situation saying repeated surnames become nuisance to the government and citizens.

According to the new proposals, parents will be able to register their babies by combining their names. The project is being considered by local authorities.

UNI