Loud Thoughts

A Howard W. French questioned, on International Herald of Tribute on November 2nd, 2007, if the deeply rooted American values of democracy and check-and-balance are really superior. What if Beijing is right?

I have long explained to people that China’s current governance model has existed for over 2200 years. The system experienced ups and downs over these centuries and had a bad phase from mid-1800s to early 1900s. Before that, it was the most powerful and prosperous country in the world.

Jared Diamond, in Guns, Germs, and Steel, tried this China puzzle with a geographic slice. He observed that, culturally and geographically, China is homogeneous and uniform, as contrast with Europe be heterogeneous and diversified. What’s most interesting to me is America’s entrance to this great social experiment few hundred years ago. In a few centuries, would some comparative governmental historians make a conclusion?

A centralized, non-elective government can make fair, but not just, decisions, faster. It can sacrifice few for many — economically right decisions but sometime not humane. To avoid debilitating corruptions, China has a power transfer scheme that has worked quite well for the past 30 years.

Are democracy and freedom-of-speech good for all civilizations all the time? Americans viewed this very question as religiously condemnable. You can hardly blame them. Their mere few hundreds years of experience had hardly been tested by any serious challenges: except for now.

Jammie Thomas was devastated by RIAA by making copyrighted songs available for others to download. They traced her via an IP address. Her service provider betrayed her by linking the IP address with her real identity and provided this link to RIAA.

Yahoo betrayed Shi Tao and devastated him no less drastically than Ms. Thomas. Like Ms. Thomas’s service provider, Yahoo did so in compliance to the laws. Only that Yahoo complied to China law, instead of US. For that, Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo, received tongue-lashing from Congressman Tom Lantos as a “moral pigmy.”

Companies violated US laws all the time: minimum wages, maximum working hours, accounting principles, environmental protection, working conditions (OSHA regulations), etc. It is OK to do so outside of US soil and be in compliance with laws. Yahoo did not even violate any US law, only a value system and an ideology. This theater, therefore, is to send a message to China government, “We don’t like how you govern.”

Jerry Yang and Li Tao’s family are merely political props.

I grew up knowing few forms of alcoholic drinks: hard liquor (BaiJiu: 白酒), milder rice wines (HuangJiu: 黄酒), and beer. Honestly, the idea is getting others drunk and staying sober at the same time. Social cohesion and the capacity to hold liquor are more important skills than the ability to distinguish the finer flavors of the drinks.

Much older, I met Kathy and a group of wine fanatics. They taught me this new alcoholic drink called grape wines. (And yet many years later, Crawford taught me whiskey.)
I learned how to swirl, hold the glass to the light, sniff, sip, and make some comments. Those who really know me will snicker, “Sin-Yaw has no taste buds on wines.” They will be right and we all knew it does not matter. The real important skill is not to be able to tell the difference between a $15 bottle and a $20 one, but to appreciate the drink and enjoy the company or the foods. As Rich said, “The lubricant of conversation.”

Recently, I found out that a few people in China are at the same stage I was many years ago. “This is cool,” I thought. “How about wine tasting in China?”

As far as I have observed Kathy’s parties, this is how:

1. Decide a theme: First choose a theme for the tasting. This is usually arbitrary and up to the host. The typical theme surround grape varietal or region: Shiraz, Cabernet, Southern Italian, etc. At the same time, choose a price guideline for the participants.
2. Infra-structure: Wine-tasting parties need many glasses, a spit bucket, a clean water source to rinse the glasses, and a stain-resistant surface.

   Glasses should be transparent and easy to swirl. They don’t need to be expensive. Spit bucket is for throwing away wines: a normal and perfectly OK thing to do. Some people intend to taste many wines and do not wish to get drunk. Others simply do not like the wine enough to finish the glass. Water is for rinsing the glasses. Some people prefer to rinse the glass before trying a new wine. Lastly, wine pouring can be nasty on delicate surfaces.

3. Foods: Foods serve to cleanse the palate. In between wines, it is necessary to remove the tastes of the previous wines from your mouth. Eating simple, non-spicy and not too salty foods are best. Crackers, french bread, and simple cheeses are popular choices.

   Coffee, either ground or beans, is the best olfactory cleanser. Sniff the coffee in between wines to restore fresh scent.

4. Wines: The host should secure enough variety and quantity for the participants. Average person can consume about half a bottle without too much trouble. Each “serving” should be about a quarter glass or even less. The point is to taste wines and not drink them.

   The host should make sure the drivers are sober before leaving. This means at least an hour without taking any alcohol before driving.

   Of course the focus of the party is to talk about the wines just tasted. Some kinds of note taking devices will enhance everyone’s knowledge and memory.

Internet offers wealth of information on this subject. I read the quick online wine-tasting course and went to UC Davis site for its tasting wheel too.

Now I am ready to be invited.