Beijing
China is overrun with Wangs and Lis—93 million and 92 million, respectively. Fully 85 percent of China’s 1.3 billion people have one of just 100 traditional surnames. This week, the Ministry of Public Security declared the situation a security hazard, because it is too difficult to track down any particular Wang Tao, say, among China’s nearly 100,000 Wang Taos. The ministry announced it therefore would let couples give children either parent’s surname—or a combination of both. A Wang and a Li, for example, could name their child Wang, Li, Liwang, or Wangli. The child of a Zhou and a Zhu could be called Zhouzhu. Double-naming is already permitted in Hong Kong, where it has become trendy.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Time-honored political tactic: Throw your wife under the bus'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
Best non-alcoholic spirits for summer cocktailsThe Week Recommends As hard liquor takes a backseat for many, the ingredients for the perfect mocktail are dryly delicious
-
Will Biden's tariffs hinder China's EV dominance?Today's Big Question Climate change goals and American jobs in tension
