Many Chinese put their family name before their given name, in line with the traditional belief that the family comes before the individual. This is at odds with the Western style of names, where the given name comes before the family name. As a result, some Chinese names get reversed in Caucasian places, like Chen Ning Yang (Yang being his family name) and Ang Lee (Lee being his family name). However, perhaps due to the commonness of it in Western societies, most of them do not really mind.
I don't really mind that much actually. Therefore, I will not be surprised or irritated if the letter from the Australian National University (ANU) addresses me as "Mr Boon Sze Jackson Tan". But when someone at the ANU administration decided that my given name is too long and truncated it for me, it's another matter altogether. You know, "Mr Boon Tan" can very well refer to my brother or any of my cousins, or many other Chinese in the world. Worse, I suspect it can easily complicate matters when I need to use official documents from both countries, such as applying for a student visa ("Erm... I'm sorry, your passport says you're 'Tan Boon Sze Jackson', but this enrolment letter is for 'Boon Tan'.")
Ah well, I'm sending a letter clarifying this along with the acceptance letter. I hope I won't end up arrested in Australia for double identity.
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