Chinese netizens angered by "princelings" -- spoiled children of the rich and powerful

From CNN, an article about the growing anger in China at "taizidang" ("princelings"), the spoiled children of the rich and powerful who make the news for driving luxury cars into innocent bystanders, demanding special treatment from law enforcement, and receiving light sentences in the end. The latest princeling in the public eye is 15 year old Li Tianyi, who drove his BMW into a family's car, then leapt out and berated the family for stopping suddenly, while their child cried in the back seat. Li was driving without a license, and had previously been sanctioned for 36 other moving violations while driving without a license.

The teenager grew up in an elite family, his parents both singers who frequently appear on stage and on television. His father, Li Shuangjiang, has long been a household name in China, best known for his renditions of patriotic military songs.
After the incident, Li issued a public apology for spoiling his son and asked that he be given another chance, CCTV reported.
However, this failed to stop the tide of public anger. Many voiced their anger on Sina Weibo, China's popular micro-blogging site.
"We will give him another chance, but the law can't." posted @ Gujingyema. "For kids with family and social connections, the only way to deal with this kind of kid is to go by laws."

Privileged kids anger Chinese public

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: china • corruption • demographics • Kids • law • oligarchy

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Eric Parfitt

Time travel party, B6/5. Bring the ideal elevator algorithm.
LaHaine

Just like in every other capitalistic country.
- Lobster
  
  Yep! The best evidence yet that China is only plays communist on TV.
- rstanton
  
  Right, nothing like this would ever happen if, say, one of Kim Jong Il’s kids ran someone over on the street.
  - Antinous / Moderator
    
    Right, nothing like this would ever happen if, say, one of Kim Jong Il’s kids ran someone over on the street.
    
    You mean if their chauffeur ran someone over?
- http://www.facebook.com/love.hjerten Love Hjertén
  
  More like in every other society?
peregrinus

“best known for his renditions of patriotic military songs” – does anyone really expect that kind of person to install a backbone and moral fibre into his kids?
- Lobster
  
  Sure, if your idea of morality is supporting the Party and your idea of backbone is dying for the Party.
- Guest
  
  rendition in the gitmo sense? or the glue factory sense?
http://fungibleconvictions.com/ Andrew Whitacre

Granted it’s my own experiential sample bias, but in my decade of adulthood I’ve started to see this increasingly often among kids in up-and-coming families, ones fighting to hold onto their gains before the tough economy by, today, parroting the childishness of spoiled rich kids.
snagglepuss

Indeed. And why SHOULDN’T the Chinese get their own Paris Hiltons, to contribute to the decay and disintegration of the moral fabric that holds their society together ? It would be WRONG for Western culture to hog ALL of the narcissistic brats to ourselves! SPREAD THE WEALTH, I say!
http://www.facebook.com/DemiDeciDan Daniel Sobol

No license, lousy driving and look what he did to that poor BMW!!!
Andrew Singleton

Welp. I guess I should be happy sensless douchbaggery isn’t monopolized by the American celebrity Idiocracy.
Guest

The capitalist contains within itself the seed of its own devolution.
riceagain

Berated? More like mercilessly battered a husband and wife. Little shit was also carrying a replica firearm in the car.
http://about.me/roxanne.weber Roxanne

Sounds like Asia is becoming more Americanized than we thought huh.
- howaboutthisdangit
  
  At least the U.S. is exporting SOMETHING (besides cash) to China.
http://www.facebook.com/VitaminSteve Steve Flack

How quickly can we get these people reality TV shows?
- cfuse
  
  “The Red Shore”
http://www.facebook.com/dhosek Don Hosek

“to sanction” does not mean to punish, it means to give approval. Cory, you’re a writer, you should be getting that one right.
- Scrotch
  
  Erm, actually there is another definition of ‘sanction’ that means pretty much exactly what Cory wrote. I have “a threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule” (via the Mac OS dictionary).
  
  edit: sorry that was the noun form, verb form I have “impose a sanction or penalty on”.
- http://www.jjsaul.com Jim Saul
  
  Like “cleave”, it means two seemingly opposite things dependent on context. For example, sanctions levied for player infractions in sports?
  - http://www.jjsaul.com Jim Saul
    
    TIL such is called a “contranym”, and some other examples are “left”, “oversight”, “dust”, and “seed”:
    
    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10687362
sdmikev

Here’s where flogging could really be put back into practice.
http://mikego.myopenid.com/ MGO

Best concentration of “princelings” or “little emperors” in North America is in Richmond (a suburb of Vancouver), BC.
- Tribune
  
  yep
  
  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/09/01/bc-cars-impounded.html
http://www.facebook.com/dhosek Don Hosek

Although the 1978 citation for that meaning just goes to show my point: 1978 Daily Mail 29 Nov. 9/1 Sir Geoffrey Howe‥referred to Ford’s being ‘sanctioned’.‥ Nobody‥made a protest about this violence being done to the English language (or about normal meanings being stood on their head).
http://netwrok.us/videos/ Viral Videos

Li Tianyi has no honor and lacks discipline!!
AirPillo

It’s tragic but amusing how a communist revolution inevitably leads to a plutocratic society.
zeruch

If you think this has any strong causation from “capitalism” and I’d say you are delusional. From Republic to Autocracy, privilege has been abused under regimes/administrations where rule of law is applied highly unevenly (or even arbitrarily).