what's in a name: a new zealander's angst

anthony green taught in singapore before. he wrote an article today in the straits times about the difficulties in getting the chinese and korean names right, in the right order. he knew what he was talking about after spending years here. his point is that the west seems so comfortable when rearranging the names of chinese or koreans or other asians. they didn't bother if lee kuan yew is written as kuan yew lee. even anwar ibrahim is mr anwar or mr ibrahim, he ponders, and wonders if it does matter at all. of course he feels that it should be put right, in the right order. but some chinese think it is better to rearrange their names to be in the right order to fit the western world, and thus added to the confusion.