China/South Asians just do as they are told, or they are shot.
As someone who has spent a lot of time in Japan, when I first visited there way before covid one of the things that stuck me was the amount of people especially on public transport wearing face masks. This is because if you have flu or a cold you wear one to not spread your germs to others. There is also virtually no litter there, because even if there’s no bin you take it home, in the uk I’ve seen people walk straight past a bin and throw rubbish on the floor as if they get some warped prestige out of it. Like you alluded to, there is definitely a cultural aspect to rates of covid infections and deaths, I’m sad to say in Asia there is far more respect for other people than in the UK which is why they have suffered less.