The Ministry of the Interior passed amendments to the Name Act on June 26 requiring all foreigners and stateless people registering as residents in Taiwan to use a Chinese name, with surname first and given name last. There are no rules, however, regarding exactly how one comes up with a name. You can choose your own surname, or simply not use your surname, and only provide a given name, such as Katherine or James (transliterated in Chinese), which gives foreigners a lot of freedom when choosing a name.
Hsieh Ai-ling, head of the ministry’s Department of Household Registration, says that the longest name on record is 15 characters, adding that the ministry does not have any restrictions regarding the length of a person’s name.
In the amendment the ministry also loosened restrictions on changing surnames and given names when adopting, fostering or no longer fostering a child.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
The Name Act, which originally said that people who want to become monks or nuns, or who wish to terminate their monastic names, can apply to change their name, has now relaxed its restrictions and simply says that a person can change their name for any religious purpose and for any religion. The draft amendment will now be sent to the Executive Yuan for review, in accordance with the law.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
內政部六月二十六日通過「姓名條例修正草案」，明文規定外國人、無國籍人在我國辦理戶籍登記時，應取用「姓氏在前、名字在後」的中文名字，至於如何命名則幾乎沒有限制，不但可以自行決定姓氏，也可以只登記名字不要姓氏，例如「凱薩琳」或「詹姆士」等，給予外國人極高自由度。
內政部戶政司長謝愛齡說，目前最高紀錄是十五個字，內政部對字數沒有特別限制。
內政部也在修正草案同步放寬規定，未來被認領、被收養或終止收養者，除了變更姓氏，也可以同步修改名字。
此外，「姓名條例」原本規定「出世為僧尼」、或「僧尼還俗」者可申請改名，現在放寬為「因宗教因素」出世或還俗者，均可改名，所有宗教都適用。全案後續將依法制作業程序，送行政院審查。
（自由時報記者陳慧萍）
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