Well I work in a managerial position in Asia with asians and I experience very little of that kind of behaviour. In my >30 years of experience I find it is the attitude of managers that most dictates the behaviours of subordinates. I really am sick of this nonsense, it rears its head in every thread involving an Asian airline and it smacks of cultural superiority. I've worked with Americans in American companies who spend every second trying to second guess their managers, pitifully fearful of spiteful reprisal at best and career assassination at worst.
In my experience (living in Indonesia with my Chinese-Indonesian wife), most of the alleged deference is cosmetic. What's usually really going on is a different style of discussion when it comes to manager/subordinate relations. The substance is the same, the window dressings are changed. I can see how people *think* there is deference. But IMO, there is a lot less than you would think. It's just that there is a right way and a wrong way to assert yourself, and that looks kind of funny from outside.