2ndwind.....
Indeed there are countries that absolutely do not tolerate unfavorable speaking about the government. I had a group of guests in my living room once from Taiwan, Malaysia, and China. Without thinking, I said something disparaging about our US government, and everyone's mouth dropped open. I laughed and told them that in the US criticizing the government is the national pastime. Then they relaxed and talked frankly about their governments.
When we had such visitors, we always tried to arrange for them to do things that they couldn't at home. Shooting ranges were a popular opportunity, and getting a private flying lesson was another popular one. Many countries have zero private aviation. In Malaysia, possession of either a firearm or one round of ammunition is an automatic life sentence. Possession of both is an automatic death sentence.
