Here’s a bit of fun. Complete this sentence: “There is a common sentiment in China that government officials will only speak the truth when …” – over to you. Finish that sentence.

I’m sorry times up. If you said “when they are drunk or careless” you were right.

That question was read out of a standard book, “Human Resources Management” by Raymond J Stone, then used at Monash University in Melbourne, by lecturer Aaron Wijeratne in May 2017. This sentence reflects a sentiment often expressed in China. In the Western world, this idea is found, perhaps, in a Latin saying – in vino veritas. Translated “in wine there is truth”.

But a student from China, in the class, Gao Song, wasn’t amused, worse still, he was offended, and he did something about it.

Tag words: Human Resources Management; Raymond J Stone; Gao Song; Chinese Communist Party; CCP; WeChat; Monash University; Robert Brooks; Global Times; Sydney Today; Clive Hamilton; Silent Invasion – China’s Influence in Australia; Christopher Hughes; London School of Economics; Dalai Lama; University of Sydney; Michael Spence; Victoria University; Professor Colin Clark; Confucius Institute; Tiananmen Square; Xi Jinping; Perry Link;