Chinese bottled water giant Nongfu Spring targeted by nationalists

The latest target of China's online nationalists is the massive bottled water and soft drink company Nongfu Spring, located in Hangzhou.

The founder of Nongfu Spring, Zhong Shanshan, is the richest person in the nation. The company's Hong Kong shares fell for three days in a row, wiping out about 30 billion yuan ($4 billion) in market capitalization. Last week, the company reached its lowest point since late January as online users attacked it for being, among other things, "pro-Japan."

This was a sharp contrast to the accolades bestowed upon its competitor, Wahaha. Wahaha, another Hangzhou-based company, was started by the late Zong Qinghou, who was once the richest person in China.

Zhong of Nongfu was criticized as an ungrateful, profit-driven businessman by social media users on Weibo, where Zong passed away in late February. Users brought up reports of previous conflicts between the two companies. Zong was described as a grounded and patriotic entrepreneur.

Other features of Nongfu Spring that have drawn criticism include the disclosure in the company's 2020 prospectus that Zhong Shu Zi, Zhong's son, holds a U.S. citizenship.

Users continued to criticize Nongfu Spring, alleging that the company had used an image of a Japanese shrine on the packaging of its bottled tea. Some even made the connection between the form of the entrance gate to the contentious Yasukuni Shrine and a Greek character found on one of its jasmine tea bottles. China and South Korea view the shrine, which honors Japan's war dead and some class-A war criminals, as a reminder of Japan's previous military aggression.

In response to the outcry, people have started uploading videos of themselves emptying unopened water bottles into trash cans or pouring Nongfu Spring into the toilet on Chinese short video platforms.