China cracks down on its sex partying, Ferrari-driving, money-burning 'fuerdai'

10.07.2015 20:30

Their dogs wear gold Apple Watches. They smash up supercars like they are toys. They boastfully post pictures of their bank statements online. They hide behind their parents' clout when they get in trouble with the law. And they make the Rich Kids Of Instagram look like penny-pinchers.

They are China's young 'fuerdai', which translates as 'rich second generation'. And many in the country – including Chinese President Xi Jinping – fear that their money-burning lifestyles are getting dangerously out of control.

And after a massive public backlash against the fuerdai, Xi demanded that they be taught the value of money - so 70 of the billionaires' children were sent to a 'social responsibility' retreat where the fine for turning up late was £103.

They often work as casual business investors or are unemployed, and are the immensely wealthy sons and daughters of Chinese businesspeople and government officials.

This year, mainly due to the rise of social media in China, public scorn for them has reached fever pitch.

One of the biggest previous backlashes against them came in 2013, when a series of fuerdai scandals shone a light on the generation's shocking and excessive behaviour.

In April that year Shanghai Daily reported on rumours of a fuerdai sex and drug party in Sanya, Hainan province.

Officials investigated a yacht show bash there after hearing reports of a model selling sex at the party for 600,000 Yuan (£62,000).

A woman named Guo Meimei, who is now 23 and was considered to be the queen of the fuerdais, was accused by a male rival, Chen Junyu, of selling sex in Sanya.

She responded by posting a picture of 5 million Yuan's-worth (£516,000) of casino chips online along with the caption: 'Too rich to need to sell sex.'

Chen replied by posting a screenshot of a bank account showing a balance of 3.7billion Yuan (£382million). The duo's exchange prompted outrage from Chinese netizens.

One user on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, wrote: 'It is really quite disgusting for a bunch of rich, bored fuerdai to show off their fancy lives like this.'

Miss Guo fell from grace last year when, after being arrested for gambling crimes, she admitted she had accepted money for sex in the past.

She had also falsely claimed that she worked for the Red Cross charity, damaging the reputation of the organisation and prompting it to issue a statement saying it had no ties to her.

'I like to show off,' she said. 'I have the vain mindset of a little girl.'

A woman named Zhang Jiale seemingly made a bid for Miss Guo's crown in 2013.

She posted pictures of piles of designer shopping bags, plus shots of her boarding a private jet and at a party surrounded by glamorous females.

The tomboy was 22 at the time and is the daughter of Zhang Jun, an electronics, insurance and property tycoon.

Perhaps the most sinister incident of fuerdai excess-related behaviour came in 2012 when Ling Gu, son of high-ranking government official Ling Jihua, crashed his Ferrari 458 Spider in Beijing.

Ling Gu, aged 23, was killed in the crash and three female passengers, two of whom were found naked with the other in a partial state of undress, were seriously injured.

Mentions of the crash were censored on Chinese social media as the government was accused of trying to cover up the incident, fuelling the public's hatred of this protected generation.

This year another Beijing supercar smash-up helped ignite a further backlash.

On April 11 a 21 year-old man surnamed Tang driving a Lamborghini and a 20-year-old man surnamed Yu driving a Ferrari wrote off their cars in a tunnel.

Few details about the drivers were released but police said they were jobless, leading to netizens speculating that the incident was yet another example of fuerdais out of control.

Furthermore, this year has seen some of the most brazen examples of fuerdai showing off online.

In May, Wang Sicong, son of tycoon Wang Jianlin, China's richest man, posted pictures online of his dog wearing two gold Apple Watches: one for each front paw.

(dailymail.co.uk)