Zhong Shanshan’s problems began with the death of his greatest rival. When the once richest Chinese and founder of the Wahaha drinks company, Zong Qinghou, died at the end of February, many nationalist bloggers praised him as a true patriot. The comparisons immediately began with Zhong, currently the richest Chinese and founder of the other top dog on China’s drinks shelves, Nongfu Spring. While the deceased led a simple life and stood up for his workers, the Nongfu Spring founder was ungrateful and greedy for profit. The labels on its tea bottles also evoked associations with Japan – a deadly sin for China’s nationalists, who like to remember Japan’s crimes in World War II.
China’s richest man and the Nobel Prize winner for literature is hit by hate – business
