It's a black letter day for student Zhao C
A Jiangxi native has gone by the name of Zhao C since his birth 23 years ago. But not any more.
His lawyers have settled out of court with the local public security bureau, which had appealed against a lower court's ruling last year that Mr Zhao could keep his unusual given name. As part of the settlement, the student must change his name.
The man's father, Zhao Zhirong, said he believed the case had raised public awareness of civil rights as he had hoped it would. They had not yet chosen a new name, he said.
But his son said he loved his name and believed his rights had been violated. 'My given name, C, is easy to remember and didn't cause people any problem. It would be a nightmare if I was ordered to change all my personal files and records that are under this name. How can the bureau recognise my name 23 years ago, but retract it now?'
The bureau refused to register Zhao C's name because a newly launched national computer system for issuing identity cards does not recognise Roman letters. The bureau complained to the court that changing the system just for Mr Zhao would be a big waste of money.
His father said the C stood for China and had also been intended to encourage his son to learn English. But the bureau argued that the name 'violated the public interest' and would damage Chinese culture.
In its appeal to the Yingtan Intermediate People's Court, the bureau said allowing people to use 'foreign characters' in names would 'cause huge trouble for population management and people's social contacts'.
Many netizens sided with Zhao C, however, arguing that naming a child is a basic civil right and that he should not be deprived of that freedom.
