Dong Mingzhu slammed for discrimination against Chinese educated abroad

Gree Electric Appliances's controversial executive says she doesn't recruit Chinese with overseas education because spies are among them.

Dong Mingzhu, a controversial senior executive of Gree Electric Appliances, where the corporate slogan is 让世界爱上中国造 “Made in China, Loved by the World,” has been slammed for saying her company will not recruit Chinese with overseas education because there are “spies” among them.

The 70-year-old told a recent shareholder meeting of Gree, a state-owned company under the municipal government of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province until 2019, that “绝不用海归派”“海归派里有间谍，我不知道谁是谁不是” that she “absolutely does not use overseas returnees” because “there are spies among them and I can’t tell who are the spies and who aren’t.”

Sales outside of China accounts for 16.6% of the publicly-traded Gree’s revenue in 2024.

Dong’s controversial remarks drew at least one billion reads on Chinese social media, and also swift condemnations.

Below are two commentaries by Hu Xijin, the retired Chief Editor of Global Times, in his WeChat blogs.

董明珠应该道歉

Dong Mingzhu should apologize

At the shareholder meeting, Dong Mingzhu publicly stated, “We will never hire returnees; we only cultivate talent from domestic universities.” She also said, “There are spies among returnees, and I don’t know who is who.” This statement clearly crossed the line. Given that she embodies the Gree brand and is a public figure, in order to protect the brand image of Gree, as well as to safeguard the reputation of the returnee community and the seriousness of national policies, I believe that Ms. Dong should apologize.

Ms. Dong is known for being outspoken, and this is her style. Some of her remarks often attract public attention and sometimes provoke controversy. However, most of the time, these remarks are about business and corporate management, or involve interpersonal relations, areas where she has the right and freedom to speak freely. Moreover, she has led Gree well, and both shareholders and the board have recognized her leadership, so there is no issue there.

However, the remarks mentioned above touch upon public policy, and by making these statements at the shareholder meeting, she addressed the entire public. Promoting Gree’s policy of “never hiring returnees,” only hiring graduates from domestic universities, is a form of identity discrimination. As a major enterprise with influence, publicly establishing such an employment policy goes against Article 3 of the Labor Law, which states that “workers shall enjoy equal rights to employment and career choice.” China’s employment policies certainly do not allow for the exclusion of any large group in this way.

As for the statement “There are spies among returnees, and I don’t know who is who,” it is even more absurd. While it is true that there may be spies among returnees, spies can be found in any group. Labeling all returnees with the risk of espionage and excluding or discriminating against them in employment is a severe violation of national policy and defamation of the returnee community. A public figure representing a large enterprise should not be making such a statement, as it is not acceptable in the ideological context of China’s reform and opening-up era.

As I mentioned earlier, Ms. Dong’s personal style and leadership approach are beyond reproach, but when her speech touches on public interests, she must recognize boundaries and exercise discretion. No one should be exempt from this. “Speaking bluntly” cannot be used as a shield. Therefore, I believe that Ms. Dong should apologize for her over-the-line remarks about the returnee community.

从华为到腾讯，哪家顶级公司为防间谍就排斥海归了？！

From Huawei to Tencent, which top company excludes returnees in the name of preventing espionage? ！

It seems that Ms. Dong will not apologize, and some even think that calling for her apology is too harsh. Let this controversy remain as a mark on the internet.

However, Ms. Dong’s public statement that she does not hire returnees because of the fear of spies is clearly wrong. This kind of thinking should never be propagated in our society. In an era where everyone has a mobile phone, making such a statement at a shareholder meeting is essentially addressing the entire public.

China’s opening up will inevitably come with various risks, including the risk of “spies infiltrating.” Our society must have the capacity to manage these risks while continuing to open up even further. China’s best companies have employed countless returnees, and even foreigners. Huawei, DJI, BYD, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Tencent, ByteDance, Alibaba, JD… all have. The “spy risk” they face is probably higher than Gree’s, but they have not been tripped up by this issue. Instead, they have built China’s brand in global markets, contributed to national tax revenues, and helped enhance China’s economic and social resilience. This resilience increases the nation’s ability to handle various risks, including the “spy risk.”

How to manage Gree is the right of Ms. Dong and her management team. They can have their preferences in choosing talents based on their conditions and experiences. But completely rejecting a group of people goes against labor law. When such a stance is publicly promoted at a shareholder meeting and spreads throughout society, it creates a negative impact that contradicts the country’s opening-up policy. This exceeds the company’s right to “independent management” and triggers opposition.

It must be said that the negative public opinion against Ms. Dong and Gree is something that Ms. Dong herself brought about. Making an apology about this matter does not mean a total self-denial. Now, a large group of returnees feels hurt. I believe this was never Ms. Dong’s intention, and thus, offering an explanation and expressing regret to this group is the responsible and broad-minded action that a company and its leader should take.

Objectively speaking, China’s external environment has become more complex over the years, with more challenges. Strengthening national security awareness is a necessary response. At the same time, we must continue to uphold opening-up policies, maintain the country’s resilience, and preserve internal social vitality and flexibility. This is vital for China today.

If a large enterprise refuses to hire the entire returnee group because it cannot handle the “spy risk,” this is honestly not a virtue of Gree. There is nothing wrong with offering more opportunities to domestic talent, and all large enterprises should do so, because domestic talent is undoubtedly the backbone of China’s workforce. However, using the fear of spies in returnees as the main reason for hiring domestic graduates goes against national policy, and for a company producing mass-market products to take this approach is an overreaction. The public discourse of an open China should not encourage this.