title: Agony Uncle in China: Lessons from a young generation
author: Ralph Jennings
description: Ralph Jennings, born in the United States in 1968, lived in Beijing for seven years. He worked in China as a news reporter and a university journalism teacher. He is now a news wire reporter in Taipei.
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  # 2061: Odissey Three
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  2061: Odissey Three
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 2061: Odissey Three
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Tycoon
  
  
  When he was born, William Tsung had been called ‘the most expensive baby in
  the world’; he held the title for only two years before it was claimed by his
  sister. She still held it, and now that the Family Laws had been repealed, it
  would never be challenged.
  
  
  Their father, the legendary Sir Lawrence, had been born when China had re-
  instituted the stringent ‘One Child, One Family’ rule; his generation had
  provided psychologists and social scientists with material for endless
  studies. Having no brothers or sisters - and in many cases, no uncles or aunts
  - it was unique in human history. Whether credit was due to the resilience of
  the species or the merit of the Chinese ‘extended family’ system would
  probably never be settled. The fact remained that the children of that strange
  time were remarkably free from scars; but they were certainly not unaffected,
  and Sir Lawrence had done hi