Background
Miao Shouliang was born in Meizhou, Guangdong Province, Miao is a Hakka, one of a subgroup of Han Chinese who live predominantly in Southern China.
寿良 缪
Miao Shouliang was born in Meizhou, Guangdong Province, Miao is a Hakka, one of a subgroup of Han Chinese who live predominantly in Southern China.
Miao Shouliang was educated locally.
In 2002, Miao invested more than 200 million yuan towards the development of a school in Xixiang township under the auspices of London City College (LCC), a division of Schiller International University. LCC’s programs are accredited in England and focused on business and hotel management. With Miao’s financial support, the Xixiang operation is designed for Chinese cadre development by offering career-focused programs such as business administration, information technology for business applications, advertising and public relations, and English language courses.
Despite his success, in recent years Miao and his company have been surrounded by controversy. In conjunction with the murder of a striking migrant worker in Guangdong Province in 2007, Miao’s name was tarnished by media representing workers’ rights. Through his alleged refusal to issue back pay totaling 5 million yuan (US$657 000), which triggered the strike and the ensuing violent conflict and its tragic consequences, he has been accused of symbolizing the greed and cruelty of China’s capitalist class.
A sort of capitalist activist, he is also a delegate of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. As a vocal proponent of China’s economic path to social market capitalism, Miao is quoted as saying about his exposure in Forbes’ richest Chinese list: ‘As long as I earn the money legally, there’s nothing for me to worry about at all . . . I am convinced that the Forbes list will help promote the popularity of my business as well as myself.’ And popular his business is. In 1987 he took over a bankrupt stone quarry and has since transformed the Fuyuan Group into a predominantly real estate business-based conglomerate.