NOVEL NEXT Chapter 180: Lawyer's Letter
Lu Heng's explosive statement was truly earth-shattering!
Originally, the popularity of this "Immortal Taoist" consistently stayed high across major media platforms.
Even though not all netizens had entered his live stream, many had seen clips of his broadcasts.
So, after the live stream ended, topics related to his accusations against Great Sea Unity swiftly climbed to the top of hot search lists on major websites.
"Immortal Taoist accuses Great Sea Unity Company of embezzling donations!"
"Is it true or false that Great Sea Unity's chairman, Ju Huasong, used charitable funds for stock trading?"
"Journalists called Great Sea Unity, but no response yet!"
"Beitong Technology, Jiel Network, Huishuang Communication stocks plummet after opening!"
"Background of Great Sea Unity Company revealed!"
"Who exactly is Ju Huasong?"
"Immortal Taoist donates millions of live stream earnings without compensation!"
"According to reliable sources, the Celestial Sea government has initiated an investigation into Great Sea Unity…"
Countless gossip-loving netizens were ignited by the scandal.
On one side was the currently most popular Immortal Taoist on the internet.
And on the other was the controversial Great Sea Unity Charity Company.
This battle, regardless of who the final victor would be, could satisfy everyone's eagerness for gossip.
At the same time, Douhu Live also announced the specifics of Lu Heng's donations on their platform WeiBo.
This move, while clearing themselves, also added more credibility to Lu Heng's accusations.
"We absolutely cannot let these charity parasites betray the goodwill of philanthropists and trample on the dignity of the law!"
"I've said before, this Great Sea Unity company is just pretending to be charitable while making money off people's kindness!"
"Exactly, that disgusting Great Sea Fund takes a 30% fee!"
"I've seen other charity fundraisers charge only a 3% service fee, while Great Sea Fund is ten times that!"
"When my father was sick, he participated in Great Sea Fund, and after all the deductions, the over 200,000 in donations was reduced to less than 100,000."
"They are vampires, feeding on the kindness of good-hearted people!"
"Haha! At first, Great Sea Fund claimed to be purely charitable, saying they never charged any service fees!"
"Now? These vampires don't even bother pretending anymore!"
"I'm a nurse at a hospital in Celestial Sea, just a few days ago, Great Sea Fund got into a fight with another fundraising agency while canvassing."
"We have similar situations here, with promoters canvassing every day."
"They also don't verify patients' family conditions, casually setting fundraising amounts and taking commissions per order."
"Honestly, these scumbags are exploiting others' goodwill for profit!"
"Moreover, to raise more money and take larger commissions, they often fabricate or exaggerate illnesses!"
"Damn! If that's the case, how is it different from fraud?"
"When people realize their kindness has been exploited as a tool for others' profit, it'll be nearly impossible for those truly in need to awaken public compassion!"
"Isn't it time we regulated these so-called charity fundraising institutions?"
"The patients are the most pitiful, if the wolf really comes one day, no one will believe them."
At first, most netizens just voiced their indignation and left their comments and insights.
But as time went on, some real experts started to take action.
Soon, the personal details of Great Sea Unity's chairman and secretary-general were all dug up.
These charity parasites used donations to buy villas and luxury cars.
Many related charity projects were either nonexistent or blatantly for show.
In just half a day, the Great Sea Unity Company was thoroughly exposed.
At this point, Great Sea Unity's staff were stressed out of their wits.
But they had no solution.
Who would have thought the chairman had taken the company's senior executives on a trip abroad?
On the third day after the incident broke out, chairman Ju Huasong and others returned from abroad.
"I've received a call from the top, asking us to quickly quell this wave of public opinion."
"What solutions do you have right now? Speak up quickly!"
In the conference room, Ju Huasong gathered the company's leaders to solicit suggestions.
Though Ms. Ju is in her fifties, with makeup, surgery, and clothing, she appears quite young.
Her connections are extraordinarily deep, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to manipulate such a large charity company.
"Chairman, this smear against our company was entirely sparked by that Daoist on Douhu Live!"
"Yes, yes, it's that Daoist causing trouble."
"We should quickly contact a PR team to tarnish that Daoist, or expose some other big news to divert some of the netizens' attention."
"Why not spend money to buy some scandalous information on famous celebrities, it could help disperse some of the public opinion pressure."
"That's a good idea! I know a seasoned entertainment reporter who can get some celebrity scandals."
"As long as we do our best to shift public focus, so that they're not overly fixated on us, everything can return to normal."
"Perhaps the chairman should send a lawyer's letter to that Daoist, and then hire a lawyer to sue him for defamation."
"Right! As long as people don't focus on us, we'll have room to maneuver…"
The suggestions, one by one, gradually eased the frown on Ju Huasong's face.
The times have changed!
Once any negative news spreads online, the longer it drags on, the greater the pressure from public opinion.
In the end, even with immense power, she probably couldn't cover this up.
So it's necessary to cut the knot swiftly, and eliminate all discordant voices as soon as possible.
With this in mind, she nodded and said, "Alright, let's proceed according to everyone's suggestions…"
Soon, Great Sea Unity Charity Company released a public announcement across multiple media platforms.
"Pingliang Law Firm, appointed as joint counsel by Ms. Ju Huasong and Great Sea Unity Charity Company, assigns lawyer Ma Pingliang as their representative. Regarding the reputation damage suffered by Ms. Ju Huasong, the letter states as follows:
The infringer registered an account on the Douhu Live platform under the name 'Fortune-Telling Taoist', making false statements during a live broadcast on the night of August 21, 2022.
These statements maliciously defamed Ms. Ju Huasong and Great Sea Unity Charity Company, and the broadcast was picked up by major media outlets that night.
Fortune-Telling Taoist, without any solid evidence, maliciously fabricated and spread false facts for unlawful purposes, which were widely propagated.
This behavior has severely damaged my client Ms. Ju Huasong's reputation, causing her significant mental distress.
Additionally, these false statements have hindered Great Sea Unity Charity Company from proceeding with subsequent work matters.
To protect Ms. Ju Huasong's legal rights, we reasonably request that Fortune-Telling Taoist issue a public apology statement, eliminating the negative impact on Ms. Ju Huasong and Great Sea Unity Charity Company.
If Fortune-Telling Taoist fails to take appropriate measures in time, we will pursue legal action against the infringer according to the law!"