Charles Xue

Charles Bi-chuen Xue (Chinese: 薛必群; pinyin: Xuē Bìqún) is a Chinese-American entrepreneur and angel investor, better known by his screen name Xue Manzi.[1] He was one of the founders of UTStarcom, the Chairman of 8848 Electronic Commerce Network, the Chairman of Prcedu.[2]

Charles Xue
Born (1953-02-18) February 18, 1953
Guangdong, China
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materChinese Academy of Social Sciences
UC Berkeley
OccupationEntrepreneur
Years active1991–present
Spouses
  • Hu An (former)
  • Ding Wei (current)
Children2
ParentXue Zizheng
Chinese name
Chinese薛必群
Xue Manzi
Traditional Chinese薛蠻子
Simplified Chinese薛蛮子

Biography

Xue was born in Guangdong Province in 1953. His father, Xue Zizheng, was the vice minister of the United Front Work Department.[3][4][5] During his childhood, Xue lived in Toufa Hutong, Beijing. In 1966 when Xue was thirteen years old, the Cultural Revolution was launched by Mao Zedong, during which his father Xue Zizheng was isolated and jailed.

Two years later, Xue went to Urad Front Banner to work as a Sent-down youth in the Down to the Countryside Movement.

In 1976, Xue worked at Wenwu Publisher as an editor, and started to learn English from Xiao Qian, Shen Congwen and Li Jianwu. He translated the White House Guard into Chinese with his friend and got 468 yuan.[6]

In 1978, Xue was accepted to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, he entered UC Berkeley in 1980, and he made the acquaintance of Masayoshi Son, Lu Hongliang, and Stan Lai. Before graduating, Xue was employed in New York City.[7] After graduating, Xue worked in ThyssenKrupp. In June 1991, Xue returned to Beijing, he founded Unitech with Lu Hongliang and Wang Zuguang.

In 2011, Xue founded 8848 Electronic Commerce Network. In 2008, Xue settled back in Beijing with his wife and children. In August 2013, Xue attended a meeting which was convened by Lu Wei, the Chairman of the State Council Information Office.[8][9]

On 23 August 2013, Xue was arrested for soliciting a prostitute by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.[8][10][11] But Xue's real offense was his custom of sharing his ideas about corruption and political reform with his more than twelve-million followers on Weibo.[12] Xue's arrest is regarded as part of China authority's plan to take back control of public opinion online.[13] Later Xue apologized on CCTV, explaining that he came across prostitution while working abroad in countries like Thailand and the Netherlands.[14] In his public apology, he explained that he often "did not verify the facts very thoroughly," "did not give constructive advice or opinion," and "focused simply on spreading the message" in his Weibo posts that he said were "full of emotion."[15] Xue was released on bail in April 2014 "because he was sick," according to the Beijing police.[13]

References
  1. "Outspoken Chinese American investor Charles Xue detained in Beijing 'prostitution bust'". South China Morning Post. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  2. 盘点天使投资人薛蛮子的互联网投资项目. ifeng.com. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  3. 中国微博大V薛蛮子涉嫖被刑拘 Archived 2013-08-30 at the Wayback Machine，Asia Pacific daily, 26 August 2013.
  4. 薛蛮子. Archived from the original on 2013-08-30. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
  5. 北京警方：薛蛮子因涉嫌嫖娼被抓获 Archived August 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  6. 薛蛮子 “老奸巨猾”的天使投资人 Archived November 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  7. 薛蛮子：从革命二代到著名投资人
  8. "秦火火"们玩火自焚网上哪些言论会犯法？. 163.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  9. 国信办主任鲁炜与网络"大V"畅谈社会责任. Xinhuanet.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
  10. "Chinese-American investor Charles Xue arrested in Beijing in 'prostitution' sting". Shanghaiist. Retrieved Aug 25, 2013.
  11. Zhang Ping. 从"寻衅滋事"到"嫖娼". Deutsche Welle (in Chinese). Retrieved 2013-08-26.
  12. Zhao, Suisheng (2016-07-06). "Xi Jinping's Maoist Revival". Journal of Democracy. 27 (3): 83–97. doi:10.1353/jod.2016.0051. ISSN 1086-3214. S2CID 148247964.
  13. "China releases blogger on bail, jails another amid rumor crackdown". Reuters. 17 April 2014. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved Feb 25, 2015.
  14. Charles Xue, Chinese-American blogger, is outed on TV over prostitution links, retrieved 2021-12-23
  15. China state TV 'confession': Charles Xue, retrieved 2021-12-23
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