What’s Behind the Online Lashing of Bottled Water Billionaire Zhong Shanshan?

Zong Qinghou passed away from an illness on Feb. 25. Three days later, at his memorial service, Nongfu Spring’s founder and chairman, Zhong Shanshan, paid his respects. Soon, comments and stories about the old relationships between these two leading companies began to circulate online.

People online have claimed that Zhong Shanshan was once a distributor for Wahaha, from which he earned his first pot of gold; he was later dismissed for inappropriate actions; Zhong’s eldest son holds American citizenship; and Nongfu Spring’s product packaging incorporates Japanese-style elements. Whether any of these claims are true remains to be verified.