The Little Emperors are poised to put China on top of the world

THE Little Emperors, they call them, and they can be counted in tens of millions. They are the young generation of China, and the main reason why that country will surely become the next and perhaps the greatest superpower in the world.

In 1980, the then Chinese government instituted a new family policy. It insisted that for the foreseeable future, and with very few exceptions, each family could have only one child.

Families that disobeyed this law were penalised in all sorts of ways, including through the tax system, but also in terms of access to housing, health benefits, and in other ways. As a result, millions and millions of families with one child now exist in China.