Zhang Hekai Speaks Out on Controversy on Social Media, Motives Questioned

Recently, the founder of “Nuclear Gene” Zhang Hezi, who has been under public scrutiny, has resurfaced on social media. During the pandemic, his nucleic acid testing business rapidly expanded, achieving a turnover of 450 million Chinese Yuan in just half a year. Zhang Hezi had been embroiled in rumors and scandals for two years, and only now is he starting to respond to the controversies, raising suspicions among the media about his motives.

Last month, Zhang Hezi opened an account on a mainland social platform and continued to release self-narrative videos, addressing the incident from two years ago when his nucleic acid testing laboratory’s testing results were inaccurately reported and brought to the attention of the Lanzhou government. At the same time, Zhang Hezi also responded to the public on how he entered the genetic testing industry and the mystery surrounding Zhang Shanshan, a shareholder in Nuclear Gene who was previously at the center of public opinion.

The comment section of Zhang Hezi’s videos has been flooded with skepticism and criticism. Many netizens are questioning why Zhang Hezi is speaking out intensively at this time. They believe he is trying to whitewash his image, but it seems to be having the opposite effect.

A recent report by Jiemian News suggested that Zhang Hezi’s voluntary response this time seems more like a tactic to attract followers to his new social media account and establish his image as an entrepreneur. According to social media data, the videos related to entrepreneurship that Zhang Hezi has posted have reached 2.124 million views, and there is also a fan group with a threshold that over 200 people have joined.

Some netizens are speculating, will Zhang Hezi be the next to start live-streaming sales?

During the pandemic, “Nuclear Huaxi” seemed to be everywhere. The actual controller of this organization is Zhang Hezi, with Zhang Shanshan serving as a supervisor. They own more than 30 nucleic acid testing companies. Several associated nucleic acid testing companies have been penalized for falsifying test results.

Due to the shared surname of Zhang Shanshan and Zhang Hezi, it was widely circulated online two years ago that Zhang Shanshan was his daughter.

Fast forward to the present, Zhang Hezi is finally addressing the events head-on. Zhang Hezi stated that Zhang Shanshan is not his daughter but simply a former colleague in his company. In the video, Zhang Hezi also expressed confusion as to why this rumor persisted for so long without anyone seeking verification from him.

Regarding Zhang Hezi’s response, “Professor Zhao,” the president of “Happy Elderly News” and a self-media personality with nearly 400,000 followers, questioned: If the rumors were so heated back then, why did Zhang Hezi hide like a turtle? If it was just a “rumor,” why didn’t he clarify things back then? Letting a “former colleague” take the blame for him, how could he bear it in his conscience?

In fact, even two years ago, Zhang Hezi’s younger brother, Zhang Yuanzi, mentioned in an interview with mainland media that their family is an ordinary one. “We are very low-key. The truth speaks for itself. We have no obligation to clarify anything.”

According to Jiemian News, in 1994, after graduating from university, Zhang Hezi was assigned to the Technical Department of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau. A year later, Zhang Hezi’s wife, Ba Ying, also graduated and was assigned to the Second People’s Hospital of Shenzhen as a chief physician.

Later, both of them resigned from their positions within the system and ventured into business. The initial capital for Zhang Hezi to establish Nuclear Gene came from the first earnings in the renovation construction industry. In 2011, he officially entered the genetic industry. In 2012, the two of them jointly founded Nuclear Gene. Zhang Hezi had worked in the public security system for four years.

In 2022, Zhang Hezi registered ten nucleic acid testing institutions nationwide. According to official information, Nuclear Gene Group’s subsidiary, Nuclear Huaxi Medical, participated in nucleic acid testing in 18 outbreak cities such as Wuhan, Beijing, Dalian, Xinjiang, Shijiazhuang, and Shanghai, with a total of over 700 million tests conducted.

Based on public reports, from March to September 2020, within just six months, Nuclear Gene’s nucleic acid testing business reached a turnover of 450 million yuan.

On November 25, 2022, his Lanzhou Nuclear Huaxi laboratory was exposed for falsifying nucleic acid test results and faced repercussions. Zhang Hezi and Zhang Shanshan, the actual controllers of the company with over thirty related institutions nationwide, became a hot topic on Weibo, gaining over a billion views in total.

Apart from the investigation on the Lanzhou “Nuclear Huaxi” laboratory, in September 2022, the Public Security Bureau of Shijiazhuang City in Hebei Province reported that the “Shijiazhuang Hehe Medical Testing Laboratory” failed to report a positive sample mixed at a 20:1 ratio during nucleic acid testing in the Sunshine 361 Community, causing delayed management and leading to a community transmission on September 21. The laboratory is suspected of illegal activities, and the police in Shijiazhuang have initiated an investigation.

During the three years of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some local governments sent samples for testing to various testing institutions through service procurement. However, “Nuclear Gene,” having encountered multiple issues, remains in the spotlight, with public opinion directly targeting the founder Zhang Hezi.

Back then, in response to the frequent incidents of falsifying nucleic acid tests, many people sarcastically commented, “Where there’s Zhang Hezi’s company, there’s an outbreak!” Netizens demanded a thorough investigation, but Zhang Hezi remains unscathed. Regarding his strong background, there were rumors suggesting that Zhang Shanshan is actually Zhang Lanlan’s sister, and Zhang Lanlan is the wife of Xi Jinping’s younger brother, Xi Yuanping. Although unverified, public opinion speculates that Zhang Hezi’s background is extraordinary and likely involves high-ranking officials.

Now, Zhang Hezi has finally addressed the “nucleic acid falsification” incident. In his video, he denied the accusations. He claimed that it was a clerical error when an employee misreported the data, and the positive individuals were properly isolated and the mistake was corrected promptly.

In response to this, “Professor Zhao” remarked, “This is utterly ridiculous. I fail to comprehend why, with public opinion raging back then, Zhang Hezi remained silent? Why is he bringing up old issues only now?”

“Professor Zhao” concluded with advice to Zhang Hezi, saying, “You better not try to clear your name; you’ll only make things worse! Stop causing mischief in the future, to prevent others from losing ten years of their lives!”