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MANILA, Philippines – When Vice President Sara Duterte delivered nearly a minute-long speech in Mandarin, the gesture stirred lively conversation on the internet, with many Filipinos questioning why the Philippine official decided to speak in a language she barely knew.
Even some of the most experienced of Mandarin speakers had difficulty understanding Duterte, pointing out the difficulty of the language and its many intonations and phonemes.
Why then did the Vice President go to such lengths? And what does it show?
On the one hand, Duterte’s gesture is a common way to build diplomatic goodwill. The speech, one of the longest delivered by a Philippine official in Mandarin, was given during an online celebration of the 73rd founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China hosted by the Chinese embassy in Manila.
Alongside this, it also stood as a reminder of Duterte’s family ties to China and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial policy toward China.
Watch this Rappler video to know more. – Rappler.com
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