TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) legislator criticized a comment by Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) legislator on Monday (Nov. 4), calling it authoritarian and lacking diversity. During a legislative session on Oct. 1, DPP Legislator Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤) addressed Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) in Vietnamese, Hakka (客家語) and Cou (鄒語) languages to express concerns over the national budget.
However, TPP Legislator Mai Yu-chen (麥玉珍), originating from Vietnam, criticized Wu's Vietnamese pronunciation and advised against relying on Google Translate to learn the language. Wu argued that Mai's remarks lacked inclusivity and emphasized her focus on the national budget, particularly the NT$30 million allocated for new immigrant education.
Wu revealed that her office includes a second-generation Vietnamese intern who suggested using multiple languages to represent diverse voices. She acknowledged the challenges of perfect pronunciation, noting the regional dialect variations in Vietnam, and argued against defining any single dialect as standard.
