Fen Fu

A Mandarin phrase meaning “to hate the rich.”

Reporting from Hangzhou, China, in a fascinating article for The Wall Street Journal, Shai Oster revealed how a fatal traffic accident has catalyzed a class war in the region.

On May 7, Hu Bin, the 20-year-old son of wealthy clothing merchants, hit and killed 25-year-old Tan Zhuo, a telecom engineer from a modest background, whilst driving at speed in a sports car.

“Rich Boys in Luxurious Racing Cars Turn City Roads into F1 Race Track,” blared the headline of a local tabloid a day after the fatal accident, kicking off a wave of public outrage. Photos of the driver in his flashy red Mitsubishi racer near the crumpled body of the victim went viral on the Internet, transforming just another of China’s 70,000 annual traffic fatalities into a parable about class injustice that resonated among millions of Chinese.

On the eve of the 60th anniversary Oct. 1 of Communist rule that was supposed to create a classless utopia, China is instead gripped with a renewed sense of anger toward a new elite. The Mandarin phrase, “fen fu,” or to hate the rich, has been coined in recent months to capture the public’s bitter resentment.

Three decades ago, then-leader Deng Xiaoping launched China’s economic miracle under the slogan, “to get rich is glorious.” He added a caveat, however: “Let some people get rich first.” They did – but not everyone else followed. …

Increasingly, public animosity is focusing on the sons and daughters of the generation of workers who launched Deng’s economic reforms, unleashing the country’s pent-up capitalist energy. Mr. Hu, the drag-car racer, has become a symbol of the “fu er dai,” or rich second-generation. Now mostly in their 20s, they grew up as “little emperors” and are perceived to live in a protected cocoon, subject to different standards of justice than others.

According to Oster, China’s legal system does not help with this perception:

Before handing down a sentence, judges in criminal cases typically take into account how much compensation is paid to victims and their families, creating the impression that the rich can literally get away with murder.

(Hu’s family reportedly paid Tan Zhuo’s parents about $165,000. Hu’s three-year sentence was considered by many to be lenient. And, as Oster noted, “In an unusual twist, Mr. Hu appeared much heavier at his sentencing than in photos from the accident scene, prompting Internet rumors that Mr. Hu’s family had paid for a stand-in. Chinese authorities have strongly denied this.”)