Opinion | The Son also Rises: nepotism doesn't disappear in China, it just gets a promotion

Throughout Chinese history, the expression ya nei originally meant palace guards but later referred generally to children of government officials. In traditional Chinese opera and drama, they are immortalised as the worst of the worst - vile, violent and corrupt. Dressed in silk and drooped in gold, ya nei roamed the streets, beating people for no particular reason or kidnapping young girls and forcing them to become concubines. They usually escape punishment thanks to their powerful fathers and relatives.

Today, such characters may go by a different name, guan er dai - the second-generation government officials, or princelings, particularly those of top mainland leaders.

While they may no longer go around beating people or abducting girls, they invariably take advantage of their parents' power and influence to enrich themselves or their families.

Judging by the rising number of reports in state media, the guan er dai are now using their nepotistic connections for what is termed "riding a rocket" - being promoted rapidly through government or party ranks to fill positions that, usually, have been vacated by their parents.

Not surprisingly, such cases have not escaped the attention of the mainland's feisty and tenacious internet community. In the latest example, as reported by the South China Morning Post yesterday, a 29-year-old deputy county chief in Jieyang, Guangdong, was demoted to a clerk after internet users exposed how his father, who held the post before him, may have had a hand in his son's fast-track promotion.

At least three other cases in Hunan were exposed online during the past week.