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I lived in China for a while, and this letter reminds me of a moral puzzle that a couple of Chinese friends quizzed me with. It goes like this:
You are in a boat with your Mother and your wife. The boat starts to sink and you can only save one person, your Mother or your wife. Who do you save?
I quickly answered, "my wife."
"You can tell you're an American," my Chinese friend said,
"A Chinese person would save their mother."
"Really?" I asked.
"Of course," she said. "You can always get another wife, but you only have one Mother."
