Yeah, I also have trouble with “face saving” culture. Though I haven’t dealt with much of it in an eastern Asian sense, other places I have been were big on that same type of thing. It is just stupid. My friend has worked in a places to play the “rude white person”, in which he is brought on to bring up how executive staff are making decisions that will ruin the business, in meetings. Once that ice is broke it is basically up for conversation, and they can blame it on him being from outside of the culture.