When I first came to China to teach in Shenyang, my students asked a lot of questions about how they could display proper etiquette in the West. At the time I offered a series of not-so-insightful pieces of advice like "don't spit on the floor" and "don't push people in the supermarket", conclusions that most of my students could have come to on their own.

Apparently, what should have been on the top of that list is "Don't say anything good about Adolph Hitler".

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/he-used-the-h-word/

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/chinese-auto-chairman-test-drives-hybrid-inside-the-detroit-auto-show/

Recently, Chinese automaker Guangming Li praised Henry Ford and Adolph Hitler as "automotive icons that changed the world". "Hitler failed on the battlefield," said Mr. Li, "but in automotive he can be counted as a victor." The response in the New York Times has been a combination of offended criticism at the insensitivity and mirthful amusement at how poorly prepared Chinese automakers have been when addressing western audiences.

The fact that Mr. Li's statement is technically true really doesn't particularly matter.

Hitler=Bad. Etiquette lesson over.