On November 6, 2025, there was a significant announcement by Yu Minhong, the founder of “New Oriental” and Chairman and CEO of “Oriental Selection”, stating that the former CEO Sun Dongxu had resigned. News of Sun Dongxu’s departure had already circulated in August.
In a post on his personal Douyin account, Yu Minhong expressed, “Dongxu and I are the founders of Oriental Selection. Without Dongxu’s hard work and perseverance, the development and success of Oriental Selection would not have been possible. Recently, Dongxu decided to stop working due to personal reasons.” The two have maintained good communication without any discord or barriers.
In August, there were reports in the industry that Sun Dongxu had entered a vacation state and might resign soon. On August 22, Oriental Selection issued a statement clarifying that Sun Dongxu was on vacation and had not left the company. Since resigning as a non-executive director in December 2023, Sun Dongxu had been working as a consultant for Oriental Selection alongside Yu Minhong. They had maintained good communication throughout.
According to the company’s 2025 annual report released in September, Sun Dongxu resigned as CEO on December 16, 2023. The disclosed compensation for Sun Dongxu only covered the period from June 1, 2023, to December 16, 2023. As per the company’s announcement, Sun Dongxu received a total compensation of 33.603 million RMB, including salary, allowances, and benefits amounting to 4.944 million RMB, equity settlement of 28.621 million RMB, and retirement benefits of 0.038 million RMB.
In December 2023, Sun Dongxu faced widespread criticism from netizens for his handling of the dispute over the authorship of literary works with Dong Yuhui. The incidents involving “throwing a phone” and “writing a short essay” raised significant doubts among the online community. On December 16 of the same year, Oriental Selection announced on Douyin that Yu Minhong would take over as CEO, relieving Sun Dongxu of his CEO duties. Furthermore, on December 22, Oriental Selection announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that Sun Dongxu had resigned as a non-executive director of the company with immediate effect.
Oriental Selection stated that Sun Dongxu’s resignation was a result of recent public opinion controversies and his poor management of the company’s brand and reputation. The board believed that Sun Dongxu’s resignation would better serve the interests of the company’s shareholders.
On November 24, 2024, Sun Dongxu reappeared in an Oriental Selection live stream alongside the host Tian Quan, packing and shipping products in a warehouse while introducing them. He mentioned that he had been away for a while and felt a bit rusty in operations, humbly referring to himself as “Xiaosun Tongxue” (Little Sun, the Student).
Public records show that Sun Dongxu was born in 1986, graduated from Nankai University with a major in Computer Science and Technology. He joined the New Oriental Group in 2007, holding various positions such as a teacher in the Foreign Examination Department at Tianjin New Oriental School, Assistant Principal at Hefei New Oriental School, and Principal of Xi’an New Oriental School before becoming an Executive Director and CEO of Oriental Selection.
In 2018, Sun Dongxu was transferred to New Oriental Online and later became the CEO of the company.
In 2021, with the introduction of the CCP’s “double reduction” policy, the education and training industry faced unprecedented strict regulation, leading New Oriental to its darkest moment. On December 28, 2021, New Oriental Online launched the Oriental Selection live sales platform. Sun Dongxu successfully led the company through this rough period, guiding it towards a new phase of growth.
On January 5, 2023, New Oriental Online announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the board recommended changing the company’s name from “New Oriental Online Technology Holdings Limited” to “Oriental Selection Holdings Limited” to reflect its shift towards the live e-commerce sector.
According to information from “Tianyancha”, the applicant for the “Oriental Selection” trademark is Beijing New Oriental Xuncheng Network Technology Co., Ltd., established in 2005 with a registered capital of 122.351229 million RMB, with Sun Dongxu serving as the legal representative.