'Enemy of state' profits from notoriety

(Ecns.cn)--Guo Meimei, the 20-year-old female microblogger who sparked a storm among Chinese charities by claiming to be the general manager of the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) while living in a large villa and owning multiple luxury sports cars, has begun to make money off her reputation.

Just 10 days after she opened a clothing store on taobao.com, China's largest e-commerce platform, Guo sold hundreds of items.

"Currently I receive about 40 orders every day on average, with some customers asking for more than one piece," said Guo, who is responsible for almost every detail of her business, from purchase to delivery.

"More surprisingly, I have also been invited to endorse products and perform in business shows since I launched the Taobao shop," Guo added.

On December 16, Guo sang two songs for a club and pocketed a six-digit appearance fee. "That was my first commercial performance. Before that I rejected several other invitations because they offered a mere five-digit appearance fee, and I was looking for more," she recalled.

According to Guo, five advertisements for products that she will endorse are currently being prepared. The products include cosmetics, clothes, handsets and silver accessories.

Previously a late sleeper, Guo now gets up at 8 or 9 o'clock every morning. "I'm running a store now, and spend most of my time on it," she explained.

"The clothes in her store are about average. But I firmly support Guo, an anti-corruption hero, for starting her own business and earning her own living," commented a web user on the message board of Guo's Taobao store.

"The products are good. If there were no Guo Meimei, nobody would have seen the seamy side of the RCSC," said another netizen.

On June 23, the country's only national Red Cross Society began fighting for public trust after Guo claimed to have a link to the society, while photos on her microblog suggested that she lived in a large villa, owned two luxury sports car and had about a dozen designer handbags.

The tweets soon triggered nationwide concern that donated money was being misused. Netizens questioned whether Guo had financed her lifestyle out of donations, revealed the China Daily. Some said angrily they would never donate to the society again.

Though the RCSC denied any connection to Guo and began providing information online about donations in an attempt to regain public trust, it still failed to end the fund drain as potential donors became more cautious about how their money was used, according to the Want China Times, a Taiwan-based English news website.

"Do you know how many disaster victims have been left unaided because of your stupid words? Don't you feel guilty for this?" questioned Weng Tao, chief executive of China Red Cross Bo'ai Asset Management Ltd, who tweeted on December 13 that he had brought a slander suit against Guo at the Luohu District People's Court in Shenzhen.

In his complaint, Weng claimed that Guo should be prosecuted for her "criminal liabilities." Weng said that Guo had been defaming him on her microblog, claiming that he was "a wicked man with a chaotic private life," "a jobber," "a drug addict" and "a swindler." Weng claimed the allegations had damaged his reputation and brought severe trauma to his career and family, reported china.org.cn.

According to the website, the "war of words" between Guo and Weng began to escalate after the "Guo Meimei incident." Weng described Guo as the girlfriend of Wang Jun, the former director of his company who was later forced to resign. Both Wang's wife and Guo denied the alleged affair, however.

Guo argued in an interview with the Yangcheng Evening News on December 15 that she had not received a court summons. "I would countercharge him if it's the case. I haven't been married yet, and nobody would marry me in the future, since all Chinese men now think of me as 'Wang's mistress'."

Guo claimed that Weng had been seeking media attention. "It was Weng who framed me first. He said he had evidence, but he never showed it to the public."

"I feel like I am an enemy of the state," Guo told the China Daily in September. "The truth is that I am just a stupid girl who did something really stupid. No matter what I say, no one wants to believe me. No matter what I do, nobody wants to forgive me. I didn't break the law in any way. Would these people be happy if I died?"

"All that the public want is transparency. At least my stupid words have produced changes," Guo stressed.