Earlier this week, a 28-year-old bridesmaid in Wenchang, Hainan province, passed out from alcohol and subsequently died from choking on her own vomit. Her tragic death has since sparked public debate over the pressure to drink at Chinese social occasions.

Hinews.cn conducted a poll that found nearly 80% of Chinese people had experienced quanjiu, the word used to describe being forced to drink at social occasions. This includes dinners, birthdays, weddings, etc. The poll also found that most hated quanjiu culture and found it to be inhuman. However, others noted that the deceased woman was an adult responsible for making her own decisions.

Though nothing is completely black and white, I can say from experience that China’s drinking culture needs an update. Drinking is enforced through the social concept of face, which can be seen through cheers-ing and playing drinking games. In fact, the rules of drinking games typically force the loser to consume shockingly large amounts of hard liquor.

The social consequence is Chinese people, especially outside of Shanghai or Beijing, lack a concept of “casual drinking.” Instead, their view of drinking doesn’t fall too far from that seen in the video of the bridesmaid, as she’s repeatedly pressured into gulping down booze.

It’s like rushing a frat, except all the brothers are overly zealous Chinese guys that through seven glasses of baijiu, or rice wine, find the confidence to peeve you about western women’s voluptuous figures. And instead of getting the chance to pledge, you are awarded face. Face is a gift given to those able to drink buckets of liquor, then hold their liquor, all while successfully navigating the obstacle course of Chinese social do’s and don’t’s. Face the heart pumping liquor into Chinese drinking culture.

It’s very confusing. As an American who’s spent several years studying and working in China, my dinners with colleagues were a harrowing test of both my drinking and social abilities. It requires knowing one’s place. Any foreigner will immediately notice the clearly structured class system within a typical dinner.

Lower level employees will cheers their superiors from a standing position, usually with two hands on the glass. The superior doesn’t necessarily have to finish, but the initiator absolutely must. Clinking glasses means both will dry their cup, proclaimed through the Chinese equivalent of cheers-ganbei. During the cheers, the lower ranking employee must ensure the top of his or her glass is slightly below that of the partner’s.

And everyone gets drunk. Drunker than you’ll ever get, or should ever get, at a company social event in the West. In fact, it’s expected, even appreciated.

But the issue remains in how important face is to a typical Chinese person. Letting your guard down via alcohol is a way of giving face to your employees. It’s a step in the process of bringing everyone closer together.

As many Chinese netizens noted, the 28-year-old bridesmaid was simply acting in accordance to these social norms. She is giving into pressure because it’s a way of giving her dear friend, the bride, face. If she were to refuse, it would create a socially awkward environment. This obviously sounds silly in hindsight, but face is such a deeply entrenched part of Chinese social interaction that only the youth have begun to reject it.

Coming back to the fraternity metaphor, a concept like face creates an environment in which going against the tide is nearly impossible. The death of this woman is no different from the countless deaths that occur every year as a result of rigorous pledging. And just as that part of American culture is beginning to change, so too must the presence of face in Chinese drinking.