Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sanctioned by Beijing and officially unable to enter China but is allowed under a linguistic quirk of Mandarin.
Rubio was sanctioned during his time in the Senate over his hawkish stance on China and work addressing human rights in China. Shortly after he was named secretary of state, however, analysts noted that the Chinese government and official media began spelling his name differently. The first character of his transcribed surname was changed, going from ‘卢比奥’ (Lǔ Bǐ’ào) to ‘鲁比奥’ (Lǔ Bǐ’ào), according to the Chosun Daily.
Two diplomats told the AFP that the change was to take advantage of a legal loophole because Rubio was only banned under the previous name.
Beijing didn’t address the change when asked. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told Chinese media last year that she “had not noticed it but would look into it.”
In more recent comments, Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said Rubio wouldn’t be blocked from entering China, as the sanctions were over his actions toward China while he was a senator.
Rubio was one of the most outspoken voices in the Senate against the Chinese government, but his tone has softened in line with the Trump administration’s stance toward the country.
RUBIO WEARS NIKE TRACKSUIT ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE IN PARODY OF MADURO CAPTURE
While the change in spelling of Rubio’s name is perhaps the most notable, it’s common for Western figures to have multiple transliterations of their names, as the process of converting Western names into Chinese characters isn’t standardized. This often changes their pronunciation — President Donald Trump is alternatively called telangpu and chuanpu, the Guardian reported.
Rubio further drew attention on the flight to China over his choice of outfit — a grey Nike tracksuit resembling the same one former Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro was wearing when he was captured from Caracas by U.S. Delta Force commandos.
