Tuai was born in Port Townsend, Washington in 1925, the son of working-class Chinese immigrants.

[2] In May 1969, councilmember Paul Jacob Alexander died of a sudden heart attack while at a conference in Washington, D.C..[5] On May 19, 1969, Tuai, a Republican, was appointed to fill the seat to preserve the political makeup of the council.

[2][3] Tuai ran for the full term and in the November general election Taui won in a landslide against W.G.

[1] He supported mandatory five-year sentences for drug dealing and opposed legislation requiring businesses to hire strikebreakers.

[1][6] In 1977, Tuai was appointed by Governor Dixy Lee Ray to one of five newly created King County Superior Court positions.