I read something in one of the English-language newspapers a few weeks ago (sorry to be vague, but segue went down then and a lot of time passed) that said foreigners would be allowed / required (not sure which) to register their Chinese names with the government somewhere. It also said that names would be required to conform to “Chinese custom,” without saying whether that meant Han Chinese custom (one surname chosen from a shortish list, followed by one or two more characters) or non-Han Chinese writing conventions (where foreigners and minorities might use half a dozen characters to “phonetically” render each of their true names).
So, what’s really going on here? Who What When Where Why Which and Huh?
If you are looking for the CHINESE to issue an EXACTING, SPECIFIC, DETAILED, EXPLICIT, FULLY-EXPLANATORY explanation on this or any other government policy, I believe that you are going to be very disappointed.
After reading Mr. Hartzell’s column in the “China Post” for a few years, and talking to other knowledgeable foreigners, while correlating what they say with my own experience, I have to admit that the CHINESE do not think in an exacting manner.
There is nothing here which is intended to be racist or disparaging. It is just a statement of the facts.
I was greatly pleased to see that on my gorgeous, brand-new three-year ARC my English and Chinese names are right there next to each other, so that finally this will hopefully cease to be an issue. I’ve been using the same Chinese name for 20 years now so it’s unsettling to have to “prove” it every time.
Used to be they would add it to your ARC as an “amendment” with a little stamp, but this seems much more official. Don’t know if there are any limitations on names; they just entered what I wrote in the “Chinese Name” box on the form, I guess.
What would be the benefits of having a registered Chinese name? I think I was given a Chinese name at one point, but I’ve always refused point blank to use it – its not my name, after all. Even in cases where a chop has been required, I use a chop that has my real name inscribed on it and has never raised any eyebrows.
Only a while ago, I realized that while almost all my company documents are in my Chinese name, my ARC only states my German name. I’m thinking about getting this changed just in case a situation comes up where I have to prove that I actually am the person in the documents.
I just wonder how much hassle it will be and though I wouldn’t see a problem why my Chinese name (as chosen by a Chinese colleague) shouldn’t be accpeted, I hope I don’t end up with a different name. :?
I use my Chinese name a lot because it’s so much easier than always spelling out my really complicated German family name.
What would be the benefits of having a registered English name? I think I was given an English name at one point, but I’ve always refused point blank to use it – it’s not my name, after all. Even in cases where a signature has been required, I use a signature (or chop) with my real Chinese name
What exactly is your point here? I asked a perfectly valid question. [quote]I’ve always refused point blank to use it – it’s not my name, after all.[/quote] Good for you! My wife also refuses to use a made up name and always uses her real name. [quote]I use a signature (or chop) with my real Chinese name
I’ve seen more than my fair share of raised eyebrows when travelling abroad as well, because my signatures on my credit cards is in Chinese characters. Add to this a “western” appearance and an ROC passport with the name “Lin, Tao-ming”, and you’re going to need to wash the ceiling to get all the eyebrow marks off.
God knows what kind of treatment I’d get now, especially after 9/11.
Why is this a broad statement? Please advise us of which area of ROC law has a comprehensive legal and regulatory structure . . . .
Will it be the fact that certain activities that foreigners undertake in Taiwan may be deemed to violate their “purpose of residency”, and then they may be deported on that basis? I believe that Article 27 of the Immigration Law is usually quoted for that! How efficient . . . . . . activities which are FULLY LEGAL may, under this interpretation, be classified as ILLEGAL if a foreigner does them . . . .
Or will it be the fact that foreigners are typically taxed at the “non-resident rate”, regardless of how long they have been living in Taiwan, and regardless of what Article 7 of the Income Tax Law says, just because the MOF has issued some obscure explanatory letters which redefine the entire tax-withholding methodology, therefore over-riding the law which the Legislators passed?
Or will it be the fact that many Taiwanese posters to this website have continually commented that upon trying to discover their obligations for “ROC military service”, they have received as many as five different explanations from five different government agencies?
In a better world The Artist Formerly, and Now Once Again, Known As Prince wouldn’t have gotten so much flack for using some kind of drawing as his name. Alas, hell is other people (as Sartre says in some drama) and those other people often get picky about what they consider to be well-formed linguistic utterances.
In Western countries, imperialist pigs that we are, this means that Chinese characters just won’t fly. Somebody somewhere (probably starting with your own government’s passport office) will insist on converting it to something other people can spell. Meanwhile, here in Taiwan you can insist on Roman letters all you want, but one day you’ll probably discover that your boss/school/tax official has been jotting it all down in Chinese. Wouldn’t you like the Chinese versions to be the same? Or better yet, get some say as to what it is? Sorry to nip your creativity in the bud, but welcome to reality.
My own pet peeve is with signatures. I can’t write cursive, I can only print. At some point I discovered that “printed” names are not considered signatures. I could write almost any form of henscratch and have it be accepted (which is what I do now), except for a neatly-written copybook version of my name, which for some reason would not be legally binding.
Now I’m curious about local equivalents. For example, could a chop have simplified characters? (Before you answer that they’re not recognized here, remember that chops are carved with yet another kind of character.) Are there characters in the dictionaries that the government doesn’t recognize? (This is true in Japan.) And isn’t there any way to make the whole thing legally contingent on the person holding the chop being the actual owner? Apparently there are laws preventing chop-makers from, say, giving me a chop with someone else’s name on it–but what if I declare that that’s my new Chinese name?
As far as legal precision goes, I would speculate that a certain amount of imprecision or silliness could be found in the law codes of Western countries, bulwarks of reason and principle though they be.
My boss calls me by my name, while my tax no. is also based on the letters of my name along with my birthdate. My bank accounts are also in my name, as is the name on my motorbike registration card.
Let’s get back to the original question. What would be the benefits of having a registered Chinese name?
I don’t see any need for a random Chinese name either, especially since anyone in Taiwan (lit. my mother-in-law) can give a passable rendition of my “English” name. But in some places they want to see something in characters. All administrators of the health insurance system I’ve ever come across have insisted they require a Chinese name.
Just last week I had to conjure up another 3 characters for the Household Registration (I was putting my name on my wife’s in preparation for a visa application). There is no mention of my English name on the household registration now, only the Chinese. Conversely, on our (British) wedding certificate, there is only “English”, no Chinese. Later this week these 2 documents will somehow be used to satisfy the authorities in Taiwan that we are really married and I (whoever I might be) am eligible for a resident visa.
Since the name I’ve put in the householod registration is, in effect, fictitious, it could be that I could hire out my notarized wedding certificate to any number of people wanting a Joining Family Resident Visa (Open Work Permit anyone?).
Rather than allowing or requiring foreigners to register names in characters, it would surely be far simpler and more effective to adapt the databases so that foreigners’ ‘passport’ names can be entered.
I think that was about marriage registration. When a foreigner gets married to a Taiwanese, you have to register your name and it has to be Chinese. I imagine the “Chinese custom” bit means that it has to be 2, 3 or 4 characters, and the first one probably has to be a recognised name.
I’m not arguing that it’s necessary, but I think it’s helpful.
When you have to leave a name over the phone (for pizza or soemthing) it’s much easier to say “wang” than go to the pains of speliing your name for them.
Many computer systems only have space for 4 or 5 characters in the name field (probably for the three or occasionally 4 characters of a Chinese name, plus a number in case there’s 2 names the same). If you write your English name, they’ll pick either your first, last, or even middle name, and give you the first 4 or 5 letters. When I applied for my health insurance, I wrote my name 1st, middle, last. They used my first name (I guess because you write Chinese names first). When I registered at the hospital, I was clever and wrote my name last, first middle. The clever clerk used my middle name. Then the nurse wouldn’t accept that it was me. She wanted me to go halfway round the hospital on crutches to change it, before I could see the doctor.
For some things (like registering a vehicle) you need a chop. I think English chops look ugly.
Sometimes, you might not want people to know you’re not Chinese, but you don’t want to use a fake name.
There’s probably more reasons I can’t think of right now, but I know it’s been useful for me.
Reminds of my first credit card, they couldn’t fit all 4 of my names in (sometimes I use 6) They only managed my 3 christian names, and assumed my last one was my surname… or something… and put that first… missing off my real surname completely, it was all very wrong…
I seem to remember my household registration has my English name on, not sure about my chinese name. I haven’t seen it for ages so I can’t be sure. I can prove who I am with the name in my passport, the name I was born with, not one I made up.
Yeah, I mean your household registration. Has to be a Chinese name.
Anyway, why is a ‘name you made up’ any less valid than a name your parents made up - your ‘real’ name?
[Moderator’s note: Foreigners do not have Household Registration. Foreigners married to local Taiwan citizens have their name entered in the “remarks” column as being the foreign spouse. This is not equivalent to household registration. Is this distinction important? Yes it is.]
