Josh is paying a nighttime visit to Senator Hunt. (Not like that -- even my mind isn't that dirty.) (By the way, they gave us an establishing shot of the Capitol, for those in the audience too stupid to know where a senator might work.) Josh points out that when Taiwan's president wanted to fly the same green and red flag six months earlier, "Taiwan's democratically-elected parliament passed a law to stop him." They have a miniature debate about the status of Taiwan. In short, Hunt thinks that Taiwan should possess actual independence, and that the U.S. should stop standing in the way of that. Josh thinks that the people of Taiwan are happy, wealthy, and free, and that the lack of formal independence is unimportant when they possess de facto independence. Senator Hunt gets the cheesiest line of the episode: "When Patrick Henry said 'Give me liberty or give me death,' do you think he meant except for Wednesdays and Sundays?" They talk a bit more, and then Hunt leaves the office. You know, people on this show are always walking out of their own offices and leaving other people, including political enemies, standing there, free to rifle through their files. It seems a little sloppy to me. But maybe a good dramatic exit is worth more than privacy. Commercials.

Friday morning. Thanks, subtitles! I don't know what I'd do without you. We see Bernard in his little basement office. He's listening to some Gilbert and Sullivan (or so I'm told by usually reliable sources on the forums). For some reason, Bernard gets up from his desk, turns down the music, and walks out to the counter in the Gifts Unit. I didn't hear the bell ring, and he was facing in the opposite direction, so I have no idea how Bernard knew Charlie was there. He greets Charlie (calling him, of course, "Charles"). As Charlie starts to read something to Bernard from a legal-looking book in his hand, Bernard asks, "Did you pick out that tie, or is it government-issue?" Charlie tells him that his sister gave him the tie. Bernard: "The things we put up with for family." Charlie's not too thrown by this, and he gets back to his law book, explaining that according the Foreign Decorations and Gifts Act, the President has the option of buying back any gift accepted on behalf of the U.S. Bernard is not amused: "Must we suffer through another round of capture-the-flag?" Charlie says that Jed wants to buy back the flag. Bernard explains that a commercial appraisal would be required, and when Charlie asks him for a ballpark estimate, Bernard muses for a bit before declaring that the flag is likely worth $20,000 to $30,000. Now it's Charlie's turn to be unamused.