Nationalist vitriol toward China’s richest man sparks worry for business climate

livemint.com:

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.