TAIWAN SAYS SINGAPORE IS SNOT

Singapore's recent declaration on China-Taiwan relations has prompted an unusually undiplomatic response from the democratic republic's foreign minister:

Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure how undiplomatic it was. Could anyone please tell me what was the “graphic Hokkien expletive” referred to in this report:

Taiwan minister slams George Yeo's comments

TAIPEI - Taiwanese Foreign Minister Mark Chen yesterday slammed his Singaporean counterpart George Yeo for his remarks on Taiwan at the United Nations General Assembly last Friday.

Mr Chen described Singapore as 'a tiny country no bigger than nose dropping' in an angry response to Brigadier-General (NS) Yeo, who said in his speech that Taiwan could drag in other countries if it continued to pursue independence.

Mr Chen also accused Singapore of sucking up to China.

In his speech, BG Yeo had urged the international community not to 'allow the deteriorating relationship across the Taiwan Strait to get out of control'.

'The push towards independence by certain groups in Taiwan is most dangerous because it will lead to war with mainland China and drag in other countries,' he said. 'At stake is the stability of the entire Asia-Pacific region.'

Mr Chen said BG Yeo's remarks were 'too harsh'.

'When Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Taiwan in July, he received a warm welcome. We understand China has put great pressure on Singapore because of his visit, but the Singaporean Foreign Minister's statement is just too harsh,' he was quoted on TVBS as telling a group of pro-independence activists.

'Singapore is a tiny country no bigger than nose dropping, yet it tried to show off by criticising Taiwan at the UN,' he said.

He accused Singapore of sucking up to China, using a graphic Hokkien expletive to make the point.

He said he did not mean to use the vulgar word, but added that BG Yeo's remarks highlighted the difficult situation Taiwan faces in its pursuit of international space. -- Lawrence Chung

The e-TaiwanNews portal offers a slightly different translation of 'sucking up':

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) yesterday slapped down his Singaporean counterpart for "kissing China's ass" after he issued a warning against Taiwan independence at meeting of world leaders.

However, based on this South African report, I'm sure the actual translation would be more poetic:

"Even a country the size of a booger brazenly criticised Taiwan and former president Lee Teng-hui in the United Nations," Chen said in Taiwanese dialect.
"It was nothing but an effort to embrace China's 'balls', forgive me using such a word," Chen said.

The Straits Times has totally failed on this one. I want a full uncensored translation. Was it "balls," "ass" or some sort of combination of the two?

And could someone please provide a phonetic translation of the remark in case I want to use it on a co-worker?