I trust that you know about China much more than I do, and I understand and agree with you about the relative levels of reverence/respect for parents in China and the U.S. Even if you grow up American as I have, if your parents are from China, you know that that is the way it is "supposed" to be - they know best, so be quiet and listen. : )

But I wouldn't say that the Chinese students that I've met never rebelled against their parents when they were younger (I met them in their twenties in grad school), or that their children in China now are not similarly rebellious on occasion -- just perhaps not with as much public openness about it, or the extreme behaviors, as is sometimes found in the U.S. where rebellion is expected. Going back to the original topic about alcohol consumption by minors, that seems to be a relatively minor form of rebellion that some would do despite parental disapproval. These people were not considered bad or morally inadequate sorts at all, and certainly were not extreme jerks to their parents.

I'm not trying to make a big point -- it's just that the blanket statement, "no minor in China would do anything against his/her parents' wishes," bugged me a bit.

-delissan