Wanda Group Chairman's Only Son Wang Sichong Resigns on 29th
Recently Criticized China's COVID-19 Measures... Account Also Deleted
Authorities Crack Down on Celebrities Criticizing Policies with Imprisonment and Dismissals
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Juri] The only son of a real estate tycoon who criticized China’s COVID-19 lockdown policy has stepped down from his company director position, effectively abandoning succession to the management rights. Some argue that famous figures who criticize their country’s medical policies or regime are being retaliated against by the government, and related cases are being reexamined.
According to Chinese corporate information site Tianyancha on the 31st, Wang Sichong, the son of Wanda Group chairman Wang Jianlin, left the company as of the 29th of last month.
Wanda Group is a comprehensive real estate company developing apartments and shopping malls, and also operates Wanda Cinema, China’s largest movie theater chain. Chairman Wang Jianlin once held the position of Asia’s richest person before tycoons like Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, and Ma Huateng, founder of Tencent, emerged.
Wang’s only son, Wang Sichong, was always mentioned as the successor to the chairman. Wang Sichong was known as a ‘celebrity’ who frequently attracted attention with somewhat immature behavior, such as flaunting his wealth or publicly revealing his relationships with women on Chinese social networking services (SNS).
The reason behind Wang Sichong’s resignation from the director position is believed to be his recent dissent regarding the authorities’ epidemic prevention policies. In April, Wang Sichong posted on Weibo questioning the traditional Chinese medicine ‘Lianhua Qingwen’ that was distributed to households during the Shanghai lockdown, and criticized the coercive COVID-19 testing he had to endure during quarantine in Shanghai. Subsequently, his account was deleted, leading to speculation that the authorities imposed social sanctions on Wang Sichong.
This is not the first case. In 2020, Xu Jianglun, a law professor at Tsinghua University who publicly criticized President Xi Jinping regarding COVID-19, was arrested by the police and then dismissed. The reason for dismissal was ‘violation of regulations,’ with the school explaining, “The law prohibits intellectuals from defaming the Communist Party.” At that time, British media The Guardian reported, citing Xu Jianglun’s acquaintances, that he had ‘disappeared.’
In March of the same year, there was news of the disappearance of former Chinese real estate tycoon Ren Zichang. Ren posted online explicit criticism of China’s COVID-19 response, stating that “the Communist Party’s strict media control worsened the COVID-19 situation.” He was later sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Beijing court and is currently incarcerated. Charges included bribery, misuse of public funds, and abuse of power.
Meanwhile, recently, the Chinese think tank ‘Unbound Research Center’ publicly opposed the ruling Communist Party’s zero-COVID policy. The center argued, “Regulations that close cities and disrupt trade, travel, and industry to prevent economic stagnation must change,” and warned that “China’s economy risks stagnation due to the impact of epidemic prevention and control policies.”
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