What’s in a name? For Ma Jeng Shiuan, a university student in Taiwan, the answer was an opportunity for a bit of busy business.
The 22-year-old said he officially changed his name to ‘Ma Jeng Shiuan Bao Zheng Gui Yu’ this week, adding the words’ dancing salmon ‘in an attempt to get free sushi after a promotional offer at’ a national restaurant chain.
The temporary agreement of ‘Taiwan Sushiro’ offered free everyday sushi to anyone with ‘gui yu’ – the Chinese characters for salmon – in their name.
The promotion caused an unexpected craze that was christened “Salm Chaos” on social media and through local newspapers.
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“I knew this event because it went viral on social media and a lot of people in Taiwan know about it,” Ma told NBC News via Instagram on Friday.
He said his parents were a little worried about his name change, but that he was more relaxed because he knew he could change it again later.
“I went to Sushiro almost 15 times,” he added.
In Taiwan, individuals are legally allowed to change their name a maximum of three times. The restaurant accepts national ID cards as official proof of customers’ new names.
The government was apparently rude and urged people to stop wasting officials’ time.
“This kind of name change not only wastes time, but also causes unnecessary paperwork,” the country’s deputy interior minister, Chen Tsung-yen, told the media on Thursday. “I hope everyone can respect the administrative resources and be more rational about it.”
More than 200 people paid the small fee – about $ 3 – to change their names at the domestic registration office in Taiwan to take advantage of the promotion, the Interior Ministry said on Friday.
With the promotion, the person mentioned with the salmon was able to bring along five other people who could also eat for free.
Mom, from the southern port city of Kaohsiung and majoring in business management, saw an opportunity and started asking strangers for a small amount to eat with him under his new salmon moniker.
“I brought a lot of people to eat and charged 30 percent of the original price,” he said. “In addition, I treat my best friends to give back the favor because they were really nice to me.”
Mom said he earned about $ 2,000, but that he changed his name early Friday when the promotion ended.
The salmon chaos, however, was not welcomed by all, but some were uncomfortable with the deeper implications of a short craze that greatly gripped the imagination of younger people.
“It’s nice to see the marketing trick work, but I will not change my name for a meal,” said Jimmy Su, 49, an operations manager at a technology company in Taipei.
Although most people think it is ‘hilarious’, Su added, he said others believe that ‘changing names is arbitrarily an act of respect for parents.’
A restaurant chain representative told NBC News that more than 1,800 people enjoyed the two-day promotion.
“The current situation is beyond our expectations,” the representative said, “but we are very pleased that consumers have shown their love for us.”
The chain said it would ‘learn from experience’ and ‘accept comments with an open mind’.
