2024-03-12 14:15:00
Chairman Zhong Shanshan (70, 鐘睒睒), the founder of Nongfushanquan, China’s ‘national bottled water’, and who has been ranked first among China’s richest people for three years, is being treated as a ‘traitor’ in his country. Following the pro-Japanese company theory that the product designs sold by the company were borrowed from Japanese paintings and architecture, the boycott movement is spreading as suspicions spread that his son Jungsu Tsu (鐘墅子) lives as an American citizen. Although many of these suspicions are unfounded, the damage is growing uncontrollably as unverified information spreads through social media.
A refrigerator for Nongfushanquan products is being removed from a store in China./Weibo
According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 11th, posting videos of Nong Pu Sanquan products being thrown down the toilet or sink is becoming a trend on Chinese social media. Finally, some stores in Jiangsu Province posted on social media that they were removing refrigerators with the company’s logo, saying they would no longer sell Nongfu Sanquan products. Currently, photos of empty bottles of Nongpusanquan bottled water that have been thrown away in a pile are also going viral on social media.
Empty bottles of Nongfushanquan bottled water abandoned on the road./Weibo
The reason why Nongfu Sanquan suddenly became the target of a boycott was because claims that the company was a pro-Japanese company suddenly spread through social media. Suspicions arose one following another following some netizens claimed that the container and packaging design of the products being sold by this company resembled Japanese architecture. There were even claims that the red cap of the flagship product, a bottle of water, was borrowed from the colors of the Japanese flag, and that the mountain on the packaging was also a depiction of Mount Fuji.
The basis provided by netizens that Nungfushanquan is a pro-Japanese company. They claim that the bottle cap is the same color as the rising sun flag and that the mountain depicted on the packaging is Mt. Fuji./Weibo
Chairman Joong, who has always been extremely reluctant to be exposed to the outside world as a ‘reclusive entrepreneur’, came forward and explained that these suspicions were not true, but the criticism is growing more and more. Due to this effect, the stock price of Nung Fu San Quan, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, fell by regarding 6% this month. HK$30 billion (regarding KRW 5 trillion) in market capitalization evaporated in an instant. Sales also decreased by more than 90%.
Evidence provided by netizens claiming that Nongfushanquan’s products borrowed their designs from Japanese buildings and paintings./Weibo
Coincidentally, the attacks on Chairman Zhong began following Zong Chinghou, chairman of rival Wahaha Group, passed away last month. Zhong Shanshan worked under Chairman Zhong in the 1990s, and upon Chairman Zung’s death, public opinion spread that “Zhong Shanshan’s success was due to the betrayal of his benefactor, Zong Qinghou.” Jung San-san, known as the ‘King of Living Water’, was branded a ‘traitor’ and at some point was criticized as a pro-Japanese traitor.
As speculation continues, voices calling for self-respect are emerging even within China. Zhou Dewen, president of the Wenzhou Small and Medium Business Association, told SCMP, “The most scary thing is attacking leading people and companies in the name of patriotism,” and added, “Let’s keep our cool. “We must not be swayed by public opinion,” he pointed out.
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