A Chinese policeman who died after drinking too much at a banquet he was made to attend has been deemed a martyr who died in the line of duty, in an apparent attempt to meet his family's demands for compensation, a state-run newspaper said.
The story is here, via Daniel Lippman. If you're looking for China estimate of the day, it is this:
Chinese academics have estimated that government officials spend about 500 billion yuan ($73 billion) in public funds each year on official banquets, nearly one-third of the nation's expenses on dining out.
“Even those with liver problems or are driving are forced to drink, because their bosses will accuse them of being disrespectful if they refuse,” Xia said.
Ow. Looks like “dying in the line of duty” is justified.
My GF was recently in China as part of a delegation that was the guest of a big Chinese company. Every night the Americans were feted with ever more elaborate banquets, being fed bowls of shark fin and abalone every day. And there was always some party boss whose sole aim in life, it seemed, was to drink the Yankees under the table. Too bad most of the visiting delegation were Southern Baptist tee-totalers, so the party man just ended up on the floor, alone.
Anecdotally, Most Chineese I’ve met seem pretty lightweight for liquor tolerance. Its interesting that they can out-drink the Americans. Maybe its the special liquor.
The drunkest I ever got was at one of these, on something called ar-guo-tou, which is some sort of Chinese hard liquor – after having been softened up with about a half-gallon of beer first. It was the only time I woke up in a strange apartment and wondered just where on Earth I was…
Also, for some reason, the Chinese word for liquor, “jiu”, is mistranslated in many Chinese texts as “wine”, so if a Chinese in China offers you “wine”, it’s hugely unlikely you’re getting Western grape-based wine.
As for drinking, about 1/4 of Asians can’t metabolize alcohol, so they’ll turn beet-red after the first shot. But they’ll still keep drinking. Also, the fact that everyone has drivers or rides taxis insures that there’s no designated driver issues to worry about.
This is just like that movie “The Assembly” which is like the Chinese “Flags of Our Fathers”. Except it’s a commander trying to find the bodies of his men so they can be declared KIA martyrs instead of mere MIA patriots. It’s historical revision for justice, but it’s also for additional compensation for the family.
Heavy consumption of hard alcohol is a common aspect of business and government functions, where “gan bei,† or “bottoms up,† is the standard toast.
I guess the government of China must provide a good benefits for their people especially for those who die on duty. Chinese ATV Parts
Constant toasts and heavy drinking at official banquets blamed for increasing number of alcohol-related deaths
Many Chinese men (China Chinese men) can drink the best of us under the table. It’s a lot more acceptable there to get piss drunk as part of “business” than here. In fact, as one of the commenters mentioned, if you are trying to make a good impression, you should drink. Otherwise, you are not to be trusted.
I looked at that paper on culture and behavioural economics/finance and found it to be one of those papers where the isolation of variables was poor and the conclusions didn’t match the data.
what about the new trend of university students getting drunk by imbibing hard liquor shooters through their eyeball.
I just learned from a news program on ATV (a Hong Kong-based TV station), this deceased official’s application for martyrization had been denied.
great post – thank you
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