Who could forget that classic line from Animal Farm, George Orwell's parody of the cult of personality in the communist and authoritarian states.

Well, under the new rules of the People's Republic of China, if your Daddy contributes more than RMB3 million to tax revenues, you get extra bonus points put on your school exams, which will allow you to go to a better university.

Somehow I think even Mao would be squirming in his grave. Agreed, in the absence of a lot of 'old money', it is just similar to alumni 'donating' money to their school to get their inbred kids into their alma mater. But there is something powerfully repulsive to me, isn't there, in this system? I guess the social engineers of the system are trying to discourage wealthy parents from just getting their kids in direct to school by purchasing a place. Still, pardon me while I reach for the motion sickness bag.