> > > This is in Canada, so I don't know if it applies elsewhere, but here, minors can consume alcohol and alcoholic beverages with parental consent.
> >
> > Same in China. I don't know if a minor legally has to have parental consent to drink, but no minor in China would do anything against his/her parents' wishes, anyways.
>
> Am I missing implied humor/sarcasm here? Minors in China aren't THAT different from minors elsewhere. Some ignore parental wishes on some things and some don't, on both trivial and important issues. Maybe the appearance of not violating parental wishes is more important or better maintained in China compared to elsewhere, but actual behavior is a different matter.

I've lived a substantial amount of time in both the China and the U.S., and it seems that most Chinese children have a *lot* more respect for their parents. They rarely disagree very emphatically with their parents on important issues, at least not openly. This respect and obediance was even more pronounced back in ancient times. A thousand years ago in China, if your father were to tell you to kill yourself, you would be obligated to do so, promptly, with no questions asked. That type of stuff doesn't happen today, but the basic reverance and respect still remains. The reason is partly because of the old Chinese principle directly relating age with wisdom. Your parents are obviously older than you, and so must be wiser, and so must know what's good for you. That state of mind is partly gone today, but still remains a big part of children's respect for their parents. Now I'm not saying that there aren't some Chinese punks that act like total jerks toward their folks, but they are a lot less common than in the U.S. And such punks are looked down a lot more by society than the American punks. Anyone who knows one would think to him/herself: "Zei ge xiao huo zi ye tai bu xiang hua le," a general negative comment in Chinese condemning a person's moral inadequacy. In the U.S., many people would actually support a youth rebelling against his or her parents. So you see, the youth in China rarely dare to rebel against the parents. They do disagree, but the general philosophy is: "Mom and dad know best, so I better shut up and listen to them."

kniv"Ze tsai xiang hua ne."etsil