‘Salmon chaos’
In the past week, more than 100 Taiwanese have inundated household registration offices nationwide with applications to change their name to include the Chinese word for “salmon” after Japanese sushi restaurant chain Akindo Sushiro promised free unlimited sushi to anyone with the word in their name.
Local media have dubbed the phenomenon “salmon chaos,” and many international media outlets have also picked up the story.
This bizarre name-change craze is more than just an amusing talking point: There are some serious aspects worthy of further analysis.
First, these people are not choosing to change their names for conceptual reasons, or due to their social or family networks. For the period of time the new name exists on said person’s identification document, the holder of the document is unlikely to use “salmon” as a self-referential or a pronoun during interaction with their lover, spouses, children, parents, relatives, friends or colleagues.
A person’s new name, or “code,” is not solely restricted to that which is written on their identity document.
Their old name might still be used within different social networks and by relatives.
Furthermore, a person’s real name is often accompanied by one or more nicknames, which are reserved for use by their most intimate circle of friends and family members.
What has really changed, albeit in a transient sense, is the “code” that is used for mutual recognition between an individual and the state.
In other words, the impact of this craze should be considered in terms of the extent to which it inconveniences the individual’s interaction with others and the state for the duration of the change, as well as the potential risk of burning through the maximum permitted three changes within a person’s lifetime.
Taiwan’s “salmon chaos” can be viewed as a rational choice, although this “can” need not convey approval, nor does it mean that every instance of a “salmon” name change was a rational choice.
That is, the issue of one’s name and its relation to the state also sheds light on the plight of Taiwan’s Aborigines and the second-class status that they hold in today’s society. This is perhaps something the government should reflect upon.
Lu Yu-ren
Chiayi County
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