"China is reportedly exploiting a bizarre linguistic loophole to host Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his first visit to the country as part of President Donald Trump’s team this week, despite the Cabinet member remaining under sanctions imposed by Beijing for past outspoken criticism of human rights abuses."
"In recent months, however, anticipating the U.S. visit, Chinese officials and state media have begun using a different Chinese character to represent the Lu in Rubio’s surname, a subtle switch-up that diplomats believe have allowed Beijing to technically sidestep sanctions attached to the previous transliteration of his name."
"Two diplomats told Agence France-Presse (AFP) the change was linked to the sanctions, which included an entry ban under the older spelling. China signaled this week that it would not block Rubio from entering the country despite his past clashes with the Communist government."
"According to AFP, Western public figures are often assigned multiple Chinese transliterations with no fixed standard for how names are rendered into Mandarin. Trump himself is referred to by more than one Chinese name in official and popular usage."
Marco Rubio traveled with President Donald Trump to Beijing for talks with Xi Jinping expected to focus on trade and artificial intelligence. Rubio’s presence is politically notable because China imposed sanctions on him twice while he served as a Republican senator, including an entry ban tied to his name. During the lead-up to the visit, Chinese officials and state media began using a different Chinese character to represent the “Lu” in Rubio’s surname. Diplomats believe the character change allowed China to technically avoid sanctions attached to the previous transliteration. China signaled it would not block Rubio from entering despite his past criticism of human rights abuses, Hong Kong crackdowns, and support for Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Read at www.mediaite.com
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