Chinese surname shortage sparks rethink

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/070612/1/49653.html

The chinese government are considering a new surname system in an effort to reduce the number of people with the same surname after research has showned that 85% of the 1.3 billion (around 1.1 billion) share just 100 surnames, causing confusion in identity. The government is considering to allow couples to combine their surnames for their children, as well as to allow ethnic minorities to register their own symbols for their names.

I think that if this idea comes through, it could have quite a big impact in Singapore as well as most chinese-speaking communities. The change could cause surname-based societies to fall apart, as less and less people will be of that particular surname. Old traditions could just be forgotten due to the lack of people passing it down. This incident is also one in many that shows the world being more and more ready to give up older traditions for practical reasons.

In China, as cases of parents aborting daughters become more and more common, this could also potentially solve at least a little of the problem as now with sharing of surname permitted, the idea of carrying on the surname would not be strong.

While the solution could have its problems, it will nonetheless be an effective solution to reduce confusion by increasing the number of surnames. Problems could arise in the next generations, but solutions can be found for it.

In conclusion, I feel that it is an effective solution to the problem.