Michael Plant wrote:

> Your analysis is sophisticated, to say the least. But, the discussion would
> be a lot more interesting if you would share what you know or think about
> the specific ethical standards in question, the idea of ethical standard
> being inherent.

Not being a native of China, and having visited various areas of
that vast country only a handful of times over the years, I'm
unqualified to describe the range and complexities of their
specific ethical standards of commerce (which would probably
require a book-length treatise, anyway), but I can say that from
what I've observed, and from what I know of the experiences of
other consumers there, both foreign and native, China's general
standards and practices in the marketplace pretty much correspond
to the ancient bazaar system that still functions effectively in
much of Asia, North Africa, the Near East, and Eastern and
Southeastern Europe, i.e. (more or less): anything goes; all is
fair; buyer beware; shrewdness prevails; keep your eyes on the
moving hands; barter 'til you drop; pay cash; try before you buy
and be sure that what you buy is what you tried; trust is
disadvantageous; etc.

>>>>But in any case, the labeling and advertising constraints in the
>>>>U.S. are the results of legislation and most definitely not the
>>>>result of ethics.
>>>
>>>Which *should* somehow correlate to or reflect the ethics of the community
>>>at large.
>>
>>I don't think we can make that assumption any more. Our
>>legislative system is now so convoluted, so heavily influenced by
>>purely financial considerations, so far removed from anything
>>resembling an authentically democratic process, and our citizenry
>>is so unsophisticated and uneducated and easily manipulated by
>>blipverts, that I think it's more accurate to say that our laws
>>reflect the power struggles among various global
>>military-industrial lobbying factions rather than the ethics of a
>>so-called community-at-large.
>
>
> We could argue, but we won't. Let me just say, Thus the asterisks I placed
> around the word "should."

Yes, I noticed the asterisks, but because I don't have any way of
knowing what *should* be, it's not a concept I can easily address.

> No, I was asking you once again to be more specific about the ethical code
> regarding advertising in China, since they have advertising, hence ethical
> code concerning it.

You may infer their general ethical principles by studying the
advertising.

> So, what's your favorite tea?

Well, as a monastic renunciate I don't have access to much of a
selection, so I suppose my favorites are whatever I'm drinking,
which tend to be only Chinese teas. I usually keep on hand a
couple of pu-erh beengcha and a toucha or two for my occasional
refreshment. When I travel, which is not often, I carry the
plastic "Best Chinese THERMOS Teapot in China" that I mentioned
in a previous thread, along with a sufficient supply of pu-erh to
help sustain my endurance. Right now I'm visiting family, with
whom on my last stay in 2002 I inadvertently left the now-"aged"
baozhong we discussed earlier, so I've been enjoying that
particular tea these past two weeks. Speaking of which, I'll be
leaving here tomorrow evening and probably won't again have
access to a terminal or computer until some time next year, so
please excuse my abrupt departure from this exchange if I'm not
able to reply further. And enjoy the Pevear-Volokhonsky
translations!