By Wenxin Fan
Chinese nationalists have unleashed a wave of online attacks targeting China's richest man, accusing him of being insufficiently patriotic and denting his business, a reminder of the risks facing entrepreneurs despite Beijing's efforts to restore confidence among private investors.
Zhong Shanshan, the founder of bottled-drinks giant Nongfu Spring, has been under assault for weeks on Chinese social-media sites from users questioning his loyalty to China. Nongfu Spring's stock price has dropped since the online attacks began. The weekslong assault also led the company to cancel a popular livestreaming promotional campaign.
The trouble for Zhong started with a barrage of criticism alleging that he hadn't shown enough respect to a deceased business rival who was lauded for his patriotism. Many of the attacks have targeted Zhong's son, who carries a U.S. passport. Others have seemed more far-fetched, going after Zhong because of the red caps used on bottles of Nongfu Spring water, comparing them to the red sun at the center of the Japanese flag and suggesting the similarity points to collusion with a historical enemy of China.
Zhong, who is estimated by both Forbes and Bloomberg to be worth $63 billion, published an essay on the company's social-media accounts early this month denying allegations of disloyalty and warning readers to be wary of online influencers who cared more about clicks than truth. "Do not be misled," he wrote.
Nongfu Spring and Zhong didn't respond to requests for comment.
The harshness of the online attacks over seemingly minor transgressions has caught many in the country by surprise. Nationalists have recently taken aim at unlikely targets, including Huawei Technologies, one of the country's most important tech companies, along with a top university and a Nobel laureate.
The cultivation of nationalist sentiment is a pillar of Communist Party rule -- and that emphasis has only grown as China's economic growth has slowed. Authorities have often tolerated nationalist attacks on homegrown companies and individuals for perceived disloyalty, as long as they stopped short of criticizing the Communist Party.
But the scale of the assault on Zhong has raised concerns that the torrent of nationalist sentiment could hobble the party's bid to reinvigorate the economy. Private entrepreneurs and investors have already been battered by years of heavy regulation, pandemic-related restrictions and the disappearances of well-known executives.
Propaganda officials in Zhejiang jumped to Zhong's defense earlier this month, accusing his critics of exploiting patriotism to get clicks. Some state-controlled newspapers also warned of the implications for private business.
"If a legitimate entrepreneur could be subject to unwarranted and unbridled online trials, and they have no way to defend themselves, then no entrepreneur can stay out of 'the firing range,'" read a commentary published last week by the Economic Observer, a business-focused newspaper.
The online attacks have continued despite those protests. The fact that government censors have left many of the posts alone has led some to speculate that Beijing was condoning the online assault.
"Any power the trolls have comes from those who control censorship," said Shan Wei, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore, who has studied the relationship between China's nationalists online and authorities. Authorities' reluctance to tap the brakes on the attacks risks undermining recent efforts by Premier Li Qiang to reassure entrepreneurs about the party's support for private enterprise.
"It's a strike in the chest followed by a pat on the back," he said.
Zhong's troubles online started in late February, with the death of Zong Qinghou, the founder of Nongfu Spring's chief competitor, Wahaha. Posts began to appear criticizing Zhong for failing to pay proper tribute to Zong, who once cited national pride while fending off a takeover attempt by Coca-Cola.
The two men, both from the city of Hangzhou, have been rivals for most of their careers. In his essay responding to the initial online attacks, Zhong said he had been on good terms with Zong.
The billionaire's attempt to win over public opinion appeared to only invite more contempt. Some users pointed to a line in Nongfu Spring's 2020 initial public offering prospectus noting Zhong's son is a U.S. citizen, speculating that the company's assets could be transferred to America after the elder Zhong's own death.
In the eastern Chinese city of Changzhou, two convenience stores under the Japanese franchise 7-Eleven put up notices saying they would stop offering products by Nongfu Spring. Seven & i Holdings, which operates the franchise, said the notices have since been taken down.
Zhong isn't alone in being targeted. In February, a nationalist blogger with a modest following caused a stir by filing a request with prosecutors to remove from circulation books by Mo Yan, the only Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, alleging his novels set in World War II slandered China's war heroes.
Others criticized Huawei, the world's largest maker of telecommunications equipment, for using a Japanese-influenced translation, Kirin, in the international branding for its higher-end computer processors. Kirin, or qilin in Mandarin, refers to a mythical hoofed beast that lived in the garden of the legendary Yellow Emperor.
Earlier in the year, Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University, leader Xi Jinping's alma mater, was criticized by commentators who accused it of selling out the country by sending so many of its graduates abroad. Others questioned why it hasn't been sanctioned by the U.S. like several other elite Chinese universities, suggesting it has a cozy relationship with power brokers in Washington.
Mo Yan, Huawei and Tsinghua didn't respond to requests for comment. Tsinghua previously issued a public statement saying most of its students stay in China, and many who go abroad eventually return.
Write to Wenxin Fan at wenxin.fan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2024 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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