[mrg9192]

Our first baby was born in Shenzhen. On the birth certificate, all crammed into one space, was her English name immediately followed by her Chinese name. On her US passport is her English name, with my wife's family name as one of her two middle names. On her Chinese passport, it is just her Chinese name--using my wife's family name. I wanted my family name on the Chinese passport, but my wife said that the passport data entry could only take Chinese characters, then put out the pinyin for that character. There is no name on that passport linking her to me.

Our next baby will be born in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, for the passport or the birth certificate, what is customary for families that have a foreign father and a Chinese/Hong Kong mother? Is it usual for the surname in the Chinese to be the mother's surname, or just to leave the Chinese surname space blank? I suppose it doesn't matter as much here, because any document will at least have the English name on it, just curious.