Chinese nationalists boycott China's richest man over bottle labels that allude to Japan
An online campaign is targeting Nongfu Spring for being too unpatriotic. In 2021, the company had similar problems after it mentioned peaches from Fukushima in an ad campaign.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Chinese consumers have decided to boycott Nongfu Spring, a soft drinks company owned by China's richest man, Zhong Shanshan, because it is considered too unpatriotic and pro-Japan.
Online, messages have been shared saying that the labels of some of the company’s water bottles appear to depict a Japanese temple.
Others point to similarity between a Greek letter, which appears on jasmine tea packages, to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese war dead are commemorated.
Still more claim that the cap of the water bottles resembles the rising sun on the Japanese flag.
As a consequence, the company's shares fell 7.7 per cent since Chinese nationalists launched the online campaign after the death on 25 February of Zong Qinghou, founder of rival Hangzhou Wahaha Group.
Nongfu Spring’s owner Zhong Shanshan had repeatedly claimed the superiority of his water over that of Zong Qinghou.
The company ran for cover on 8 March, saying that the images on the tea bottles depict a Chinese temple and that the drink’s label explains that the Japanese art of drinking tea actually originated in China.
“The content is not only authentic but also meticulously sourced, with the intention of highlighting the profound impact of Chinese tea and tea culture on a global scale, thereby showcasing a strong sense of national pride and confidence," the company said.
Zhong Shanshan also stated that he has always respected Zong Qinghou and his business activity, but Chinese netizens have responded by asking him for clarification about his son, Zhong Shuzi, who has American citizenship.
The anger and indignation of Communist Party loyalists continued after Nongfu Spring released its statement.
Last week, two 7-Eleven branches in the eastern province of Jiangsu said they pulled all Nongfu Spring products from shelves, saying they would not sell products that "adulate Japan."
Already in 2021, Nongfu Spring had been criticised at home for mentioning in an ad campaign peaches from Fukushima, the Japanese prefecture scene of a nuclear disaster in 2011.
In recent days, China has asked Japan to set up a compensation system for the potential economic damage that might result from the release into the sea of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant, a request that Japan has rejected, citing the International Atomic Energy Agency, which concluded that discharging the water into the sea is safe.
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31/08/2004
