Although Mr Geithner did not commit himself to any specific action, the use of the m-word suggests Team Obama will take a tougher line.Д®xactly what it means is uncertain. The Treasury under George Bush, particularly in recent years, preferred a softer behind-the-scenes approach and refused to brand China a manipulator. Once a country appears on that list, formal negotiations to end the manipulation must begin. But Hank Paulson's Treasury studiously avoided accusing Beijing of вЂњcurrency manipulationвЂќ, a term that carries legal implications.Д®very six months America's Treasury must publish a list of countries which it deems to be currency manipulators. Most likely, therefore, Mr Geithner's language suggests a change in Washington's tactics towards China.ДЄmerican policymakers have long pushed Beijing to accelerate the appreciation of the yuan, arguing that China's exchange-rate policy played a big role in creating the global imbalances and that-both for the sake of China's economy and the rest of the world-the currency needs to strengthen. If so, it speaks poorly of a man who is already in trouble for failing to pay attention to his taxes. The tough language came in a 102-page document answering numerous questions from senators-an odd place from which to lob a bombshell at Beijing. Comments on this article are now closed.Clearly this was not a slip of the tongue. ''It should not be forbidden as a welcome when serving people in a town such as Whangarei.'' ''Te Reo Maori is an official language of this country it is heard on the television and radio every day by news presenters and people of status,'' Davis said. Whangarei-based Labour MP and Maori language advocate Kelvin Davis said he was ''stunned'' to hear of the incident. ''None of the other staff would be siding with ,'' she said. ''I've spent a lot of money getting this up-and-running, and I've tried to bring something bright and new and exciting to Whangarei.''Д¬hantelle Stevenson, another KiwiYo Whangarei employee, said Lang was ''a very reasonable boss''. Lang said she was disappointed by the incident, because she considered her staff part of her family. ''If it was her friends coming in then it's fine, but she chose to use this greeting on customers she didn't know,'' she said. Lang said she valued all her customers, many of whom were Maori. They're all trained to use this greeting from day one.'' ''I'm the first one to challenge my staff if there's non-compliance with any of the rules. ''If you go to McDonald's they'll have a scripted greeting, too,'' she said. 'I hope this position clarifies this highly emotionally charged issue, that I believe is being pulled completely out of proportion and can become political fodder which we have no intention to become involved with, and request reconciliation between the parties involved.'Д®arlier, the owner-operator of the Whangarei franchise, Margaret Lang, said all seven KiwiYo stores have a standardised greeting that franchisees have to enforce. 'In fact, we will actually promote the use of this form of welcome across our New Zealand stores and in our international stores, as it promotes the New Zealandness of our brand,' Markgraaff said.

KiwiYo chief executive Norman Markgraaff said it was company policy that customers be welcomed with the scripted greeting, but the company had no problem if a staff member chose to add 'kia ora' to the beginning of the presentation. However, this evening the company did comment on the issue, on their Facebook page and in Stuff comments.

''We said to them, 'well why don't you look at reviewing it?', but they weren't having it,'' Clarke said. Monet-Mei's mother May Clarke said she had been in touch with KiwiYo head office about the policy. The fact ''kia ora'' is banned but the business has a Maori word in its name is hypocritical, she said. Clarke and her family speak Maori at home, and she said her parents were shocked their daughter had this experience in her first job out of school.

War with words app