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| 美國衛生部長阿扎會見蔡英文總統。（照片：總統府提供） |
中評社台北8月10日電（記者 黃筱筠）蔡英文總統上午會見美國衛生及公共服務部部長阿扎（Alex Azar）一行訪台，阿扎不論是打招呼或致詞中都使用總統（President）尊稱蔡英文總統，但致詞第一句“Thank you “presidency” for welcoming me to Taiwan today”，引發國民黨質疑，阿扎疑似口誤稱蔡英文總統為“President Xi”，並對此表示“非常錯愕、無法認同”，呼籲府應嚴正向美方抗議。
總統府稍晚也回應說，關於上午美國衛生部長阿扎於總統府會見蔡英文總統時，在稱謂上的發音疑慮，發言人張惇涵表示，經確認，這純粹只是拼音與發音上的問題，阿札爾部長稱呼蔡英文總統是毫無疑義。建議各界把重點放在外交成果與防疫合作，台美關係的逐漸緊密，是全民共同努力的成果，在野黨及部分人士操作無意義的事，反而貽笑大方。
美國在台協會（AIT）也公布的阿扎致詞全文，AIT還特別附註蔡的英文唸法為President Tsai ［ts－eye］。
蔡英文總統進場時，全程戴口罩，並且以拱手方式打招呼。阿扎在與蔡英文總統打招呼時稱呼“Madam President”，而致詞開頭第一句則說，“Thank you “presidency” for welcoming me to Taiwan today”，表達感謝蔡英文總統歡迎他們到訪，但談話中後段也提到“President Tsai。”
AIT提供阿扎致詞全文：
Thank you， President Tsai ［ts－eye］， for welcoming me to Taiwan today. It is a true honor to be here to convey a message of strong support and friendship from President Trump to Taiwan. I would like to congratulate President Tsai on beginning her second term earlier this year. As Secretary Pompeo said in marking her inauguration in May， President Tsai’s courage and vision in leading Taiwan’svibrant democracy are an inspiration to the region and the world.I also want to offer my condolences to everyone in Taiwan on the loss of your former President Lee Teng－hui， the father of Taiwan’s democracy and one of the great leaders of the 20th century’s movement toward democracy. Under President Trump， the United States has expressed our admiration for Taiwan’s democratic success in tangible ways. President Trump has signed legislation to strengthen the partnership between Taiwan and the United States， and in 2018， we opened a new American Institute in Taiwan， a brick－and－mortar commitment to our treasured friendship. 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.Taiwan’s response to COVID－19 has been among the most successful in the world， and that is a tribute to the open， transparent， democratic nature of Taiwan’s society and culture. Taiwan had tremendous success in detecting COVID－19， managing the outbreak， and sharing this valuable information with other nations. Taiwan’s success in health and industry has allowed it to extend a helping hand to others， sending needed supplies around the world， including to the United States and Pacific Island nations. Again， I am grateful to President Tsai for welcoming us to Taiwan and I look forward to using this visit to convey our admiration for Taiwan and to learn about how our shared democratic values have driven success in health. |
