An abductee from China has chosen to decline lavish gifts from his affluent birth family to avoid altering his mindset towards material wealth. - Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin
BEIJING: A Chinese man, who was abducted as an infant and reunited with his birth family last year, has recently made headlines again for declining three flats and a car gifted by his wealthy father, choosing not to become a “rich second-generation”.
Xie Qingshuai, 26, from Xingtai, Hebei province in northern China, was kidnapped on January 20, 1999, when he was just three months old.
His biological parents, successful owners of several construction companies, embarked on a decade-long search, spending over one million yuan (US$140,000) to find him.
He was finally reunited with his family on December 1 last year. His life transformed overnight, leading many netizens to joke that he had gone from an “orphan” to a “wealthy second-generation”.
However, in a December 5 interview with Shandong Radio and TV station, Xie publicly revealed that he had declined the flats and car offered by his father.
Xie expressed concerns that suddenly accepting such wealth could alter his mindset and lead to reckless spending.
“I feared that accepting these gifts might change my outlook. Suddenly becoming ‘second-generation rich’ is reminiscent of the protagonist in Hello Mr Billionaire, who goes from rags to riches and starts spending extravagantly. Would I end up like that?” he reflected.
Hello Mr Billionaire is a 2018 Chinese comedy film that tells the story of an unsuccessful goalie who finds himself as the heir to a billionaire but must spend 1 billion yuan (US$140 million) within 30 days to inherit 30 billion.
Xie further added: “I told my dad that all I need is a flat to use as a marital home. I want to marry my girlfriend soon. I don’t need anything else. I can buy my own car, even if I have to work hard and earn just a few thousand yuan.”
Last December, Xie began leveraging the attention from his family reunion to venture into live-streaming, initially facing significant backlash as this new endeavour started just 23 days after their reunion.
Critics accused him of “cashing in on sympathy” and being “too eager”, which led him to briefly pause his live-streaming activities.
In July, Xie formally launched a studio and announced live-stream e-commerce as his entrepreneurial focus. The first five live-stream sessions he held, starting on July 29, attracted over 20 million viewers and generated sales of up to 50 million yuan (US$7 million).
Defending his decision, Xie stated that the revenue from live-stream e-commerce allows him to provide better for his family and assist others in need.
“I believe that not engaging in e-commerce would be a waste of resources. In this era of traffic and attention, there’s nothing wrong with doing this,” he added.
Xie’s remarks and rejection of gifts have sparked widespread discussion online.
One person commented: “This young man is truly clear-headed. How many could resist such tempting gifts from their father?”
Another expressed scepticism, saying: “He became famous and can earn a lot through live-streaming. If he were to rely on regular, modest wages, he would have happily accepted the gifts.”
With existing estimates being scarce, it is believed that the number of children who go missing in China each year ranges from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, with many of these children being trafficked for illegal adoptions, according to a paper from the Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation. - South China Morning Post
