A message from the luxury goods manufacturer LV unexpectedly related to the Taobao blockage incident. On November 24, LV and Guangzhou police jointly cracked down on a case of online counterfeiting. The website "Liangtuan" sold counterfeit LV goods worth more than 1 million yuan. The main culprit, Lin Mou, was the lead organizer of the previous attack on Taobao, known as "Zuolun". This news raised more questions about the real background and true demands of those who attacked Taobao.
The requirement to abolish the credit system was rejected. Previously, the organizers openly stated that the Taobao credit system should be abolished, but Taobao said it had no authority to make arbitrary changes. Was the event really about what they claimed? To address this issue, I specifically contacted industry insiders and ordinary citizens for an in-depth investigation. Through interviews with sellers, consumers, and Taobao representatives, the situation behind this event became clearer.
I started with an IS group executive who participated in the gathering on the 23rd to focus on understanding the situation of the netizens called "Tu You Xingshi." It is understood that "Tu You Xingshi" is from Hangzhou and has been penalized multiple times for violating agreements with Taobao before the new rules were implemented. He then focused on participating in the attacks and organized offline activities multiple times.
Relevant parties revealed to me that "Tu You Xingshi" actually operated up to seven stores on Taobao. Three of these store accounts maliciously attacked competitors; two stores published illegal goods banned by the state; one store repeatedly listed items without permission; and the exclusive store opened on Taobao Mall violated agreements with Taobao due to improper information dissemination.
He hoped to use the opportunity to vent his dissatisfaction with past penalties, so he was also active in relevant organizations. On November 16, he led another 40 people to Taobao's headquarters, and on November 23, he incited nearly a hundred people to surround Taobao.
Despite having strong organizational skills, why didn't "Tu You Xingshi" use his talents for commercial operations? For this, I personally experienced his stores.
The pages were chaotic, the image processing was simple, and each store sold slightly overlapping products, all of which were common goods. This was the first impression after browsing through the stores. In the consumer comment section, one consumer stated that the purchased item was no different from those sold at roadside stalls, and only accepted it due to the hassle of returns. Another consumer commented, "The most important thing is that the customer service promises are never fulfilled on time. Maybe they don't care about small buyers like me." Moreover, the store's consumer ratings were generally lower than the industry average. I also noticed that the last transaction was many days ago.
It is worth noting that the key indicators consumers use to distinguish good and bad sellers are precisely one of the core credit systems that "Tu You Xingshi" demanded Taobao to abolish. In November, the group of attackers led by "Tu You Xingshi" demanded that Taobao abolish the credit evaluation system.
I also learned from industry insiders that operating up to seven stores simultaneously means "Tu You Xingshi" is not the so-called "small seller."
Linked Report:
The attackers on Taobao have dispersed.
Less than two hundred people exaggerated the facts, claiming "tens of thousands" came to Hangzhou to "attack Taobao"; under the guise of "all-inclusive travel," they lured and deceived sellers to Hangzhou but provided "not even a boxed lunch"; and repeatedly exaggerated the event through Weibo and forums, claiming that "Hangzhou SWAT" and "riot police" were fully mobilized, making Hangzhou the "hottest" city for rights protection in China. After their demand to "abolish the Taobao credit system" was refused, dozens of attackers left after taking a group photo at West Lake as a souvenir on the afternoon of the 24th.
Was it really as exaggerated as they claimed with "tens of thousands"? According to a nearby resident, the most people came on the 23rd, "probably around two hundred," and on the 24th, there were "less than fifty," definitely not in the thousands or tens of thousands as exaggerated. Some netizens calculated on Weibo, "Even the best hotels can accommodate no more than five hundred people. If there were tens of thousands of people, wouldn't the hotels become refugee camps?" "I guess no hotel would dare to host these people, right?"
Not only that, but these people repeatedly called the hotlines of various media outlets, falsely claiming that "tens of thousands of people came to Taobao headquarters to protect their rights," including "disabled people" and "elderly people over fifty years old." They also searched for journalists' phone numbers and email addresses through Weibo and Baidu, continuously harassing media reporters. A reporter from a newspaper in Guangzhou said, "In the past few days, I received more than ten calls, countless emails, and private messages."
In the QQ group organizing this event, including MC Laodao, Zhang Xiang, and Leide, the event planners repeatedly emphasized to the group members to "fully forward" videos and Weibo information related to the event, "certainly to stir up the event and attract media and relevant department attention," ultimately achieving goals such as "abolishing the bad credit system," "anti-hegemony," and "separation of powers."
It is understood that some organizers who surrounded Taobao headquarters on the 23rd did not even have Taobao stores. The on-site host, known as "MC Laodao," was just a "network announcer" hanging out in YY channels, making a living by selling YY channel "monthly tickets." As for the familiar faces in this surrounding incident, Leide and Zhang Xiang, they were the leaders of the riots after the adjustment of Taobao's search rules last year. "Leide's" shop on Taobao was penalized for "excessive information release" and "failure to sell after transactions," while "Zhang Xiang's" shop was shut down by Taobao for selling ID card services.
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