This measure is a solution to a specific Chinese problem of a shortage of names. 85% of China's population bear 100 single-character surnames, known as the 'Old Hundred Names'. With the constant population growth in the country, the 'hundred' creates many problems for the authorities. For example, the most used surname from the 'old hundred', Wang, is borne by 7% of China's population, which is about 93 million people. The second most popular surname, Li, is borne by 92 million people.
Very often, the given name at birth is also from the 'hundred', which further worsens the situation, notes the Daily Telegraph. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has calculated that there are 100,000 Wang Taos alone in the country. The doubling will allow the creation of about 1.28 million new surnames. Critics, however, ask: what will the permission to double surnames lead to in the future? If a man with the double surname ZhuZhou marries a woman with the double surname WangLi, does that mean their children will bear the surname Zhu Zhou Wang Li?
Until now, China had rather strict rules regarding surnames. Only 1,601 surnames are considered permissible for a Chinese person, although 1,501 of them account for only 15% of the population. Names written in non-character scripts are prohibited. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, traditional (non-simplified) characters are used to write names.