After Repeated Arrest Rumors, Chinese Real Estate Magnate Wang Shi Reports Online Defamation

(CNA Taipei, June 23) Wang Shi, founder of Chinese real estate company Vanke Enterprise, reposted a message from lawyer Zhou Zhaocheng on June 22. The post indicated that on June 8, Wang Shi submitted a "Letter of Reflection on Wang Shi Suffering Large-Scale Online Slander, Requesting Rectification of Infringing Information Based on the 'Qinglang' Special Action" through the petition channel to the Cyberspace Administration of China. The document was signed for on June 9.

Wang Shi is hailed as "a typical representative figure of a generation of private entrepreneurs after China's reform and opening up." Vanke Real Estate Company, founded by him, was once a benchmark for Chinese real estate enterprises. However, Vanke has also gradually encountered operational problems in the current wave of real estate downturn.

Wang Shi founded Vanke in 1984; stepped back from day-to-day operations in 2011; and officially resigned in 2017.

According to a report by China's Yicai Media, the "Letter of Reflection" shows that hundreds of accounts have recently, in an organized and rhythmic manner, fabricated false information and published malicious smears and defamatory content against Wang Shi across all online platforms. Several false rumors have successively topped trending searches nationwide, with related content accumulating over 100 million views across the internet, forming a sustained and large-scale cyberbullying incident.

The news of Wang Shi's arrest has repeatedly spread in China's online sphere, primarily because it aligns with the existing perceptions of some groups in China regarding the relationship between entrepreneurs, capital, and power. It is reported that the main content of the large-scale online bullying against Wang Shi includes: fabricating rumors such as "Wang Shi has been arrested and is involved in criminal cases and is missing"; forcibly linking his situation to the company's operations, fabricating false statements like "being held accountable for Vanke's operating losses"; and fabricating false content about Wang Shi's personal private life and health status.

The "Letter of Reflection" states that this malicious public opinion has caused significant actual damage: several cooperative financial institutions have suspended credit approval for Wang Shi and related enterprises; many core executives of the company have resigned; long-term commercial partners have urgently terminated business negotiations; the normal operations of the enterprise have been severely impacted; and even some false information has been cited and reprinted by domestic and foreign media, severely damaging Wang Shi's commercial reputation and social evaluation. The related negative impact continues to spread, and economic losses are continuously expanding.

Currently, related rights protection efforts are proceeding simultaneously: on one hand, a report has been filed with the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau; on the other hand, a civil lawsuit for defamation and a criminal private prosecution for libel have been filed with the Yantian District People's Court in Shenzhen. Both cases have been formally accepted.

In the "Letter of Reflection," Wang Shi made a plea, urging major online platforms to comprehensively investigate, clean up, and remove all malicious defamatory and rumor-mongering content targeting him across the internet. He also urged platforms to strictly implement relevant regulations and, in accordance with the law, provide judicial authorities and his legal representatives with complete evidence materials such as the backend real-name information, IP addresses, posting data, and dissemination data of infringing accounts. (Editor: Zhu Jianling / Lu Jiarong) 1150623

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