The kind of reality TV you’re likely to find in the US, celebrating the overindulgent antics of billionaires and their kids, has yet to make it to China. Actually, I don’t know, maybe it has, but one thing’s for sure: the reputation of China’s second-generation rich kids has reached a point of such negativity that China has officially begun to offer advice and guidance to counter the negative stereotypes.
China’s wealthy young scions – known as ‘fuerdai’, which means “second-generation rich” – are often so seen as spoilt, arrogant and self-willed, that China’s President Xi Jinping has had to step in. By the President’s order, the United Work Front Department has begun a program of training private-sector businessmen, and their offspring, in proper decorum and social responsibility, so they can learn to conduct themselves in a manner that does not bring shame to China’s international reputation.
It’s an interesting point in a country’s evolution when aspects formerly intrinsic to its culture—humility, respect, saving face, communal good—now need to be explicitly taught by the State. I suppose many cultures are going through or have gone through a similar period. However, in China, where economic growth and societal change have both come at such an incredible rate, the excesses of the super wealthy and the curtailing of their behavior appear to be happening somewhat simultaneously.
I’d love to hear from some members of our community who are currently living in China or have recently been to the country. What’s really going on? Is it just a matter of time before some Chinese version of the Kardashians hits the TV screens or is China nipping this bad behavior in the bud? Let us know your thoughts below.
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