Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

161: The ”People’s War” of the 1st National People’s CongressAt 10:00 AM on January 8, an article titled ”Is the Safety of a 50,000-Yuan Microcar Concerning? A Deep Dive into the Hidden Dangers of a Certain ’National God Car’” was simultaneously published on multiple automotive forums and social media platforms.

The article included a 47-second crash test video: a microcar with all brand logos removed showed significant bending of the A-pillar and the left front wheel intruding into the cockpit during a 25% offset crash test at a speed of 64 km/h.

The publisher, ”Automotive Truth Observer,” claimed to be a ”third-party independent testing agency,” but the wording in the article was highly inflammatory: ”When car companies compress costs to the extreme, does safety become the first sacrifice?” ”Is what you get for 50,000 yuan a commuter tool, or a mobile coffin?”

Within half an hour of the article’s release, the view count exceeded one million. On the Chinese microblogging platform’s trending list, the entry ”#50,000 Yuan Microcar Safety#” quickly climbed to third place.

The comment section was a mix of everything; some people were questioning, some were angry, and others began to doubt: ”Is the Red Flag E-MINI really safe? After all, it’s only a little over 50,000...”

The public relations department of Hongqi Automobile detected the anomaly at 10:17 AM.

Public Relations Director Zhang Wei, 35, had handled numerous automotive corporate crises, but this time, her expression was grave.

In the office, six screens were simultaneously displaying public opinion data streams from different platforms, with red alerts flashing continuously.

”Director Zhang, although the car in the video had its logos removed, the wheel style is over 90% similar to the E-MINI’s ’petal’ design.”

The technical analyst pulled up a comparison chart, ”And the collision angle was clearly adjusted—normal testing is 25% offset, but the angle in the video is close to 30%, just enough to avoid the reinforced structure we designed.”

”Check the publisher’s background,” Zhang Wei said in a calm voice.

”The registration information is for a newly established self-media company, with the legal representative named Wang Qiang, but this person...” The analyst pulled up the business registration information, ”also has three other automotive consulting companies under his name, one of which has a major shareholder who is the general agent for a certain joint-venture brand in China.”

Zhang Wei sneered, ”This routine again.”

She picked up the phone and dialed Zhou Qingyu directly: ”General Manager Zhou, the ’Safety Gate’ is here. Judging by the methods, this is professional black PR.”

On the other end of the line, Zhou Qingyu’s voice was calm: ”As expected. The things we prepared can be brought out now.”

”Respond now?”

”No, let the bullets fly for a while.” Zhou Qingyu paused, ”At 8:00 PM, release the first statement. Then tomorrow at 10:00 AM, at the National Automobile Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, we will live-stream the entire E-MINI crash test. Remember, the cars must be randomly selected from the production line, pick three, and have them notarized on-site.”

”Three cars? The cost...”

”Money is not important; what’s important is letting everyone see the truth.” Zhou Qingyu hung up the phone.

At exactly 8:00 PM that night, the official account of Hongqi Automobile on the Chinese microblogging platform released a statement:

[Solemn Statement Regarding False Information About ”A Certain Microcar’s Safety Hazards”]

The vehicle in the online video resembles our products in appearance, but it is not a vehicle produced by our company, and the test conditions do not comply with national standards.

The Red Flag E-MINI is designed and manufactured in strict accordance with national standards and has passed the Compulsory Product Certification (3C Certification) of the country.

To respond to public concerns, tomorrow (January 9) at 10:00 AM, our company will conduct a public crash test on randomly selected mass-produced E-MINI vehicles at the National Automobile Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, which will be live-streamed in its entirety.

We reserve the right to pursue legal action against malicious smearing and commercial defamation.

The statement was accompanied by three certificates: the 3C Certification, the CATARC safety test report, and the supplier qualification for Spark Materials.

One stone stirred up a thousand waves.