Kuala Lampur, Feb. 15 -- Many years ago, my family was in Singapore celebrating Chinese New Year. On the second or third day, we went to visit an elderly aunty, had lunch, said goodbye and went home.

The next morning, we received a phone call which I haven't forgotten about in over 20 years. The call was from that aunt we visited the day before and she said she had been struggling to hold back her stress and anxiety.

Why? Because my parents had forgotten to give her children any ang pows whereas she had givenmeone.

Chinese culture, like many other cultures, is a complex blend of obligation, ritual and symbol i.e. kinda like life itself.

Inevitably there are "rules" which cannot be so easily broken without there being "consequences" (a...