Photo: CCTV

China Media Group's annual 3.15 Consumer Rights Gala, now in its 35th year, took center stage on Saturday, revealing a host of business misconduct, including substandard disposable products, food safety breaches, excessive repair fees, illegal high-interest online loans, personal data leaks, AI harassment calls, online lotteries, and the sale of wires and cables that fail to meet national standards.

The event, themed on promoting credibility to boost consumption, quickly trended on major Chinese social media platforms, prompting several named companies to issue rapid responses and local regulators to take swift actions to investigate and tackle the exposed issues.

Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Saturday that the gala serves as a significant deterrent against illegal activities while also heightening public awareness of consumer rights. The immediate reactions from businesses and authorities underscore the high stakes involved in restoring market trust and protecting consumers.

Among the first revelations was a scandal in Jining, East China's Shandong Province, involving Liangshan Xixi Paper Products. The firm allegedly purchased scraps and defective sanitary napkins and baby diapers from recognized brands, then repackaged them for sale at prices soaring from as little as 260 yuan ($36) per ton to as much as 8,000 yuan per ton. According to the broadcast, leftover waste was ground up and separated into materials such as wood pulp and super-absorbent polymers, which were also resold.

Local regulators announced after the gala on Saturday night that they have joined forces with public security officials to investigate the issue, sealed off the involved company, and brought the person in charge under control. Further investigations into the situation are underway. A special team from Shandong Province also came to the scene. 

The gala also uncovered questionable practices at several disposable underwear factories in Shangqiu, Central China's Henan Province, where producers reportedly used dubious raw materials and bypassed proper sterilization procedures, despite their product labels suggesting otherwise.

Photo: CCTV

Brands such as Chuyisheng, Beiziyan, and Langsha saw related products removed from e-commerce platforms like Taobao immediately following the broadcast. Related livestreaming was also suspended, the Global Times found. 

The market supervision and health authorities from Shangqiu responded that they had established a joint task force and confirmed sealing all finished, semi-finished products, and raw materials at the implicated sites for further investigation.

China's largest home appliance maintenance platform, Zhuomuniao, also came under spotlight. Over 6,000 complaints were filed against its repair technicians for allegedly imposing exorbitant service fees. Shortly after the revelations, the platform apologized on its official Sina Weibo account, stating that it had set up a special investigation team to address the accusations and protect customer interests.

Food safety was another key focus. In Yancheng, East China's Jiangsu Province, multiple seafood producers were accused of using excessive phosphate-based water-retention agents—a practice strictly regulated under Chinese law—in shrimp processing, inflating water content by up to 20 percent. Two food companies were named in the gala. 

Market supervision authorities in Lianyungang said they had set up a joint team to investigate this matter, and relevant issues will be released specially in the future.

Meanwhile, China Media Group noted that the State Administration for Market Regulation will roll out a nationwide food safety whistle-blowing system in May. The initiative aims to encourage industry players and other stakeholders to report severe risks and illegal activities, bolstering consumer safety efforts.

The gala also exposed an e-signature service operated by Jiedaibao, an online lending platform, which was found to encourage illegal usury lenders to evade supervision, prompting concerns about the misuse of digital lending tools.

In response, Jiedaibao apologized and announced a rectification task force, pledging full cooperation with law enforcement.

Shanghai Zhiyouqing Network Technology was the subject of another major revelation, with its AI phone-call bots allegedly fueling a surge in spam calls.

Shanghai's Municipal Market Supervision Administration announced that it had launched an official investigation into the company following the gala's expose, according to Chinanews.com.

The 3.15 Consumer Rights Gala serves not just to expose violations, but also to push companies and local authorities to rectify abuses. By spotlighting malpractices and promoting swift accountability, the annual event reinforces a more transparent marketplace that ultimately benefits both consumers and trustworthy businesses alike, Wang said.

Global Times