Chinese surname shortage sparks rethink.

When I lived in Quebec, I was astonished by the many pages for one name in the telephone book. Imagine my surprise hearing about the problems in China.
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Chinese surname shortage sparks rethink.
Tue Jun 12
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With more than a billion people now sharing just 100 surnames, Chinese authorities are considering a landmark move to try to end the confusion, state media reported Tuesday.
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Current Chinese law states that children are only allowed take the surname from either their mother or father, but the lack of variety means there are now 93 million people in China with the family name Wang.
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In a country of around 1.3 billion people, about 85 percent share only 100 surnames, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Ministry of Public Security in April and published in the China Daily newspaper on Tuesday.
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The survey found 92 million people shared the surname Li, while 88 million were called Zhang. A further seven surnames -- including Chen, Zhou and Lin -- are held by at least 20 million Chinese.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070612/lf_afp/lifestylechinasocietynameoffbeat_070612065246
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http://members.warpnet.net/sharonemerson/canadian_names.html