That’s not really the State Department. That’s a quote of something someone from the State Department said. In that context, the use of [sic] by the Taipei Times is perhaps overdoing it, a bit patronizing even. But I suppose that given how sloppy much of the newspaper work is here, we should be grateful that someone at the copy desk is paying attention.
Re. the NYT, its stylebook gives
That’s not really the State Department. That’s a quote of something someone from the State Department said. [/quote]
If you look at the US state dept website, they print press releases that use the plural form of straitS, with an S, every time. Go look! This is the US state dept official website. For some odd reason, this is how the US state dept, condi rice and everyone else, and the PR people, spell the word, with an S.
Is this diplomatic speak? Which ignores common usage in USA?