Taiwan Today

Legislator John Chiang and 25 other lawmakers have co-signed a proposal calling for a revision of the Civil Code to allow citizens who have come of legal age to change their surname without their parents’ consent. The Legislative Yuan’s Procedure Committee is set to discuss the proposal Sept. 22. It is expected to easily pass and be placed on the agenda of the Legislature’s plenary session. The proposal has been put forward based on the principle of guaranteeing basic human rights according to the Republic of China Constitution. At present, under Article 1059, Section 5 of the Civil Code, the courts can only approve surname changes in instances where the applicants are able to prove the “detrimental implication of the surname” on their current family situation. In fact, except for serious cases such as sexual assault, incest or domestic violence, judges have complete authority to pass rulings in such cases, making it difficult for those who want to legally change their surname without parental consent to do so. Noting that judges in most cases will not approve surname changes, the lawmakers claimed the machinery of government has seeped too deeply into the law, resulting in individuals being deprived of their right to autonomy over their own names. Perhaps the most famous name change case in Taiwan is that of lawmaker John Chiang. The illegitimate son of the late President Chiang Ching-kuo, he had previously used the family name of his mother, Chang Ya-juo. After his many attempts to change his surname to Chiang, the Ministry of the Interior in the end decided, based on a lenient interpretation of the Household Registry Law, to approve his application. The revision proposal notes that under the current law, those wanting to change their surnames face difficulties and obstacles because the regulation requires them to provide proof of the “bad influence” of their family situation. It points out that adults have the ability to assess their own individual needs and special circumstances and therefore should have the right to decide whether they want to change their surname. Several officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Judicial Yuan said privately Sept. 21 that the contents of the revision proposal do not contain any political controversies and that the chances of the proposal being passed are therefore extremely high. Deputy Minister of Justice Huang Shih-ming said that he will wait to see the draft revision and then study it in more detail. The opinions contained in the revision proposal include that the courts should make rulings in surname change cases based on “the best interests” of the applicants. As for the current law’s stipulation that citizens can only change their surname twice at most—once before becoming of age and one time after, the proposal does not include any changes. In legal circles, reaction to the proposal has been mixed. Supporters of the revision stress that an individual’s autonomy over his or her own name should not be restricted. Opponents, on the other hand, claim that allowing people to easily change their surname could lead to abuses that would make the work of managing personal data for household administration, law enforcement and banks more difficult. (SB)