China’s real estate giant Vanke is facing a crisis as rumors of its founder, Wang Shi, being arrested circulated online on Sunday, April 12th. The revelation came from Qin Feng, the niece of former Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. Wang Shi and his wife later rebuked the rumors and warned that the spreaders of false information would be dealt with according to the law. This incident has ignited a heated discussion on the internet.
According to reports from Financial Alliance and “New Beijing News” on April 12th, a well-known Weibo user, Qin Feng, posted on Weibo that “Wang Shi has been arrested,” causing the news to quickly spread online. However, the post is no longer visible on Qin Feng’s Weibo account.
Qin Feng, who was a former political reporter at Phoenix TV, is the niece of Li Zhaoxing, the former Chinese Foreign Minister.
On the same evening, Wang Shi wrote on Weibo, “It seems that everyone is more concerned about my situation than I am. Everything is fine, and the rumor-mongers will be dealt with by the law.”
Wang Shi’s wife, Tian Pujun, also posted three messages on Weibo that evening, stating, “There are always people who shamelessly spread rumors and cause trouble for the sake of traffic. This time, they have gone too far. We will pursue this through legal means and will not tolerate it!!!”
Many internet users have been discussing this matter, with some criticizing Qin Feng for “constantly spreading rumors,” while others express doubt about whether Wang Shi is truly free.
Well-known Weibo user Wang Weichen stated, “Regarding the news of Wang Shi being taken away, there are sporadic discussions and tea drinking sessions. Qin Feng may have mistaken a conversation for an arrest. Typically, an announcement would be made if someone of his stature was detained, and there is no need for him to create such a big news story himself. Furthermore, it’s important to be mindful of the wording and to stop at a certain point. Inciting a wave of rumor debunking directly exposes the fallacy. As a seasoned political journalist, one should not make such mistakes. Perhaps there is a sense of fearlessness stemming from having a safety net at home.”
Wang Weichen added, “Qin Feng just deleted the post about Wang Shi being arrested. Spreading rumors and reaching 892 shares, I wonder if she will face consequences.”
Another well-known Weibo user, “Plate Micro Talk,” remarked, “Despite Wang Shi’s denial of being arrested, Qin Feng still refuses to delete the post and continues to engage in heated discussions in the comments section. She maintains that just because someone appears in public does not mean they are not under control, and an official announcement will be made based on the circumstances. It appears that after being under control, Wang Shi is now within certain limitations.”
Veteran media personality Kai Lei commented, “After both Wang Shi and Tian Pujun denied the rumors, nearly four hours later, Qin Feng deleted the Weibo post. Everyone should pay attention to the comments section. After both parties denied the claims, Qin Feng did not delete the post for a long time, turning it into a secondary news item. One would assume that the blogger was fact-checking. At 11:40, Qin Feng deleted the post, which likely indicates that after verifying the source of her information, it was confirmed that Wang Shi was safe and sound, leaving no room for further speculation. Therefore, there should be no more conjecture in the comments section.”
Some netizens speculated that she may not have deleted the post but set it to be visible only to herself since the comments she reposted under that same Weibo post are still visible.
Other netizens commented, “That person is constantly spreading rumors,” “It’s a test for Old Wang,” “There’s no smoke without fire,” “It’s probably possible.”
Overseas self-media personality Wu Jianmin expressed on a certain platform that considering the situation, either Wang Shi or Qin Feng will inevitably end up in court. It’s only a matter of time before Wang Shi is arrested, and Qin Feng, for pre-disclosing classified Party-state information, will undoubtedly face criticism.
In February of this year, rumors of Wang Shi going missing had circulated online in China, to which Wang Shi later responded with updates, seemingly addressing the speculations.
Against the backdrop of the continued downturn in China’s real estate market, Vanke currently carries a hefty debt of around 500 billion US dollars.
Vanke announced its 2025 performance forecast on January 30th, expecting a net loss of approximately 82 billion Chinese yuan in 2025, compared to a loss of around 49.478 billion Chinese yuan in the same period last year.
On January 8th, Vanke announced that Yu Liang had retired due to reaching the retirement age and submitted a written resignation report to the board of directors on the same day, resigning from the position of director and executive vice president, with no further position at Vanke after the resignation. By January 28th, Chinese media reported that Yu Liang had seemingly been out of contact for half a month and might be under investigation. Subsequently, rumors began circulating online that Wang Shi was also out of contact.
Former Vanke president Zhu Jiusheng resigned from his position in January 2025 and was reported to have been subjected to coercive measures in October. Former Vanke chairman Shen Jie was taken away for investigation on September 18, 2025, and resigned in October.
Responsibility Editor: Lin Congwen#