State teaches Chinese tycoons-in-waiting how best to behave

More than 70 heirs of wealthy businessmen from southeastern Fujian province gathered in Beijing on Saturday to attend a training class organised by the government, as authorities vowed to step up guidance for the second-generation rich.

The group, with an average age of 27, recited traditional Chinese classics on filial piety in a hotel conference room in the early morning under the instruction of a Confucian expert, who explained to them how to combine traditional merits with business philosophy, the Beijing Youth Daily  reported.

The training was organised by a district government in Xiamen, the capital of Fujian, upon the request of the province’s private entrepreneurs, who were worried about their children’s future, according to You Xiaobo, director of the district government office, who is also the teacher in charge of the training.

You said one major taxpayer from the private sector in the district had told the government that his child was keen on purchasing luxury cars and racing after returning to China from studying overseas, which had made him worried.

The government started to organise classes for the offspring of leading entrepreneurs in the district in 2013.

The training was well received and the classes were expanded to cater for the children of all well-known businessmen in the 8province.

You said the training was designed to promote a sense of responsibility among the young adults, many of whom were working in the companies founded by their parents.