Women’s rights advocates and single mothers yesterday called for a revision to the Civil Code (民法) to allow adults to freely choose whether to take their father’s or mother’s family name without having to obtain parental consent.
The advocates made the call at a public hearing on a revision to the clause at the legislature, hosted by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴).
“I have been divorced for 30 years after domestic abuse and my son is now 32 years old. Since his father got married again and never even came to see the child once, my son wants to change his surname from his father’s to mine,” Chang Shu-chen (張淑珍), a single mother, told reporters before the meeting.
“His request was turned down by a court, which said the surname does not have any negative impact on his life since his father is not a criminal,” she said, showing a copy of the court ruling. “Does this make sense? My son is a grown man, he feels close to my family name because I brought him up alone, but the court denies him the right to take my name.”
Chang said her son was not the only once facing such a situation.
The current version of the law says children can only take their mother’s maiden name as their own if both parents agree to it.
“The law is a clear example of gender inequality because it implies that a mother’s maiden name can only be a secondary choice when it comes to choosing a surname for a child,” Sandra Peng (彭渰雯) told the public hearing.
“It fails to respect the rights of an adult by requiring him or her to receive consent from both parents,” she said.
Chiang, who changed his surname, supported the call.
“Changing your surname is a very difficult and challenging process, because you have to change your name on your national ID card, driver’s license, diplomas and all other official documents,” he said. “I don’t think anyone would want to change their surnames unless they feel it’s absolutely necessary.”
Chiang, the illegitimate son of late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), originally took his mother’s maiden name Chang (章) as his surname until he was proven to be Chiang Ching-kuo’s son and officially changed his surname to Chiang in 2005.
“Besides, when you change your name, your national ID number remains the same, so there wouldn’t be any confusion as far as government authorities are concerned,” he added.
However, the Ministry of Justice said it was not in favor of such a revision.
“We’re not opposed to surname changes with consent from both parents, but think about what would happen if an adult insists on changing his or her surname regardless of objections from one or both parents?”
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