Chinese bottled water producer Nongfu Spring said on Monday that it has taken legal action against “malicious rumormongers,” while also refuting online rumors about the company and its founder Zhong Shanshan that have created a public relations crisis for the firm in recent weeks.
In a lengthy statement on Monday, Nongfu Spring listed 20 rumors and offered clarifications, urging online users who were misled by the rumors to delete related remarks and videos.
“Nongfu Spring has started relevant work for reporting to public security authorities and filing a lawsuit in the people’s court, and will hold malicious rumormongers accountable,” the statement said.
The drinks giant has been under fire since March, when rumors emerged on social media platforms about the company’s ties to foreign countries. For example, some netizens raised concerns about the packaging of its green tea products, which they claimed resembled patterns of Japanese religious buildings and other symbols.
The company in March responded to that rumor, saying that the architectural patterns on the packaging of the Oriental Leaf Green Tea drink are artistic creations based on the image of a Chinese temple, rather than Japanese architecture.
Some also raised questions about the company’s nationality, with some claiming that Nongfu Spring is not a Chinese company, but one that is registered in the Cayman Islands and controlled by foreign capital.
In the statement on Monday, the company said that it is registered in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province and is a Chinese company. It also said that before its IPO in Hong Kong, there was no foreign investment in the company. After the IPO, its shares have been freely traded in Hong Kong, but the proportion of equity in the firm is relatively small, it said.
More recently, some have claimed that Zhong, the founder who is said to be China’s richest man, has left the company and fled the country. The company said in the statement that Zhong remains the legal representative of the company and the claim about him fleeing is “pure rumor.”
While some Western media outlets have seized on Nongfu Spring’s predicament to smear the business environment for Chinese private-sector firms, experts pointed to robust policy support for the private sector and an improving environment for private businesses.
In a lengthy statement on Monday, Nongfu Spring listed 20 rumors and offered clarifications, urging online users who were misled by the rumors to delete related remarks and videos.
Nongfu Spring mineral water is displayed at a supermarket in East China’s Jiangsu Province, with a notice saying that it never contains tap water. Photo: CFP
“Nongfu Spring has started relevant work for reporting to public security authorities and filing a lawsuit in the people’s court, and will hold malicious rumormongers accountable,” the statement said.
The drinks giant has been under fire since March, when rumors emerged on social media platforms about the company’s ties to foreign countries. For example, some netizens raised concerns about the packaging of its green tea products, which they claimed resembled patterns of Japanese religious buildings and other symbols.
The company in March responded to that rumor, saying that the architectural patterns on the packaging of the Oriental Leaf Green Tea drink are artistic creations based on the image of a Chinese temple, rather than Japanese architecture.
Some also raised questions about the company’s nationality, with some claiming that Nongfu Spring is not a Chinese company, but one that is registered in the Cayman Islands and controlled by foreign capital.
In the statement on Monday, the company said that it is registered in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province and is a Chinese company. It also said that before its IPO in Hong Kong, there was no foreign investment in the company. After the IPO, its shares have been freely traded in Hong Kong, but the proportion of equity in the firm is relatively small, it said.
More recently, some have claimed that Zhong, the founder who is said to be China’s richest man, has left the company and fled the country. The company said in the statement that Zhong remains the legal representative of the company and the claim about him fleeing is “pure rumor.”
While some Western media outlets have seized on Nongfu Spring’s predicament to smear the business environment for Chinese private-sector firms, experts pointed to robust policy support for the private sector and an improving environment for private businesses.
