US envoy mispronounces Taiwan President's name, opposition demands clarification

US Health Secretary Alex Azar fluffed the name of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during his opening statement, triggering demands for clarification from the opposition party. The US Health chief, on a visit to Taiwan, appeared to mispronounce the name of Tsai for her arch-rival and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

When Azar mentioned the name of President Tsai - pronounced as "ts-eye" - he instead said something closer to "shee", the pronunciation for Xi. While the Secretary clearly pronounced Tsai’s name correctly after a few sentences during the address, opposition Kuomintang party (KMT), known for its closeness with Beijing, jumped on to the issue.

"The KMT expresses shock and disapproval while urging the presidential office to sternly protest to the US side and clarify that the president of the Republic of China is surnamed Tsai, not Xi," the party said in a statement.

Xavier Chang, Tsai's spokesperson, dismissed the demand, saying it was beyond doubt that Secretary Azar was addressing her as President Tsai. He urged all parties to focus on diplomatic accomplishments and anti-pandemic cooperation. American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Washington’s de-facto embassy, released the transcript which explicitly mentioned the phonetic spelling of Tsai's name as "ts-eye".

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Congratulates Tsai

During the opening statement, Azar congratulated President Tsai on beginning her second term earlier this year. He echoed State Secretary Pompeo’s comments, saying Tsai’s courage and vision in leading Taiwan’s vibrant democracy are an inspiration to the region and the world. He also offered his condolences to Taiwan on the loss of former President Lee Teng-hui, known as the father of Taiwan’s democracy. 

“The particular focus of both my discussion with President Tsai and of our trip is highlighting Taiwan’s success on health, in combating COVID-19, and cooperating with the United States to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats,” he said.

AIT and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on health cooperation on August 10. AIT said in a statement that the MoU intends to strengthen the cooperation and collaboration on health through the designated representatives of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW).

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