In February, Chinese beverage company Nongfu Spring, which faced difficulties due to a 'pro-Japanese controversy,' officially refuted 20 rumors surrounding the company and announced legal action. This came about three months after criticism against the company spread.
On the 20th, Nongfu Spring's official WeChat account posted 20 rumors about the company and its founder, Chairman Zhong Sansan, and refuted each one. The company stated, "We have reported incidents related to the recently circulated rumors to public security authorities and have begun preparations to file a lawsuit with the People's Court."
The refutation started with the rumor that Chairman Zhong Sansan was an employee of another beverage company, Wahaha, but after being fired, he created and sold similar products and engaged in problematic business practices that resulted in fines for unfair competition. Nongfu Spring responded by stating that Chairman Zhong never received a salary from Wahaha nor was he ever fired, and briefly outlined Chairman Zhong's founding story.
They also emphasized that all claims regarding water quality issues with their bottled water products, allegations of being a foreign company, tax evasion, and pro-Japanese sentiments were false information and untrue. Regarding the rumor that the company does not engage in charitable activities domestically but has made large donations to universities in Japan and the United States, they called it a "complete fabrication," adding, "Total social donations have exceeded 900 million yuan, and during earthquakes, despite the risk of aftershocks, we visited disaster-stricken areas and delivered more than 200,000 bottles of water to victims."
In particular, concerning the Japanese-style beverage packaging that triggered the boycott movement, they explained, "The red cap on the bottled water uses the colors of the Chinese national flag, and the claim that it is the Rising Sun flag is completely false," adding, "The pagoda pattern is an image of an ancient pagoda from the Southern Dynasties." Regarding the claim that the '1588' on the label of Zhangbaishan bottled water refers to the year Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan, they refuted it by stating, "It represents the 1,588 species of wildlife inhabiting the Zhangbaishan area."
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