Be ture to your promises
THEAustralianNational Universityheldaget-toghterforalumniinBeijing.Many oftheuniversity'sChinesealumnisignedupfortheparty, bunealyone-third of the reservedseats inthe banquet hall wereempty.I canimagine howfrustrated,and shockedtheAustralianswere. Theymusthavefeltpuzzeledastohowanyonecouldso easilybredktheirpromise.
Idonotfinditstrange, however. ThoughitisfarfromauniversaltraitamongtheChinese, failingtokeepanappointment isnot rareinthiscuntry.
Inthe above-mentionedcase, thosewho were absent certaintly didnotmeantoberude, butneitherweretheyforghetfulor careless.I assumethatmostofthemmusthavethoughtlikethis;"Itwon'tmatterifIdon'tshowup, sincesomanyotherswill."
Mostprobably werenotserious atallwhentheygaveanaffirmativeresponsetotheinvitation. Theythoughtthattheycouldreserveaseatfirstandthendecideatthelastminutewhethertheywouldturnup.
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