Chinese multinational Tiens Group has sent a group of over 6,400 employees on a vacation to France for the company's "20th Anniversary Carnival," the latest in a series of large-scale employee vacations organized by Chinese companies to overseas destinations, according to the website of China's Global Times.
The trip, first to Paris and then south to Nice on the Mediterranean coast, has caused controversy in China because the company uses a direct sales model, selling health food, healthcare appliances, skincare applications and household products, according to the website.
Other netizens were more concerned with Tiens Group's direct sales structure. One netizen cited by the website said, "650,000 people have served as cannon fodder for those 6,000 employees, including their families, friends, workmates and classmates..."
The group was founded in 1995 in Tianjin. Its bioengineering subsidiary company was listed among the 51 specially licensed direct sales companies in the country.
Other netizens cited by the website stated that these large-scale employee vacations by overseas or Chinese direct sales companies have become more and more popular over recent years, with a recent trip of 10,000 Chinese employees visiting Taiwan and a trip last year which saw a group of 7,000 employees of a direct sales company visiting the US. Netizens suggested that the purpose of the trips is to "brainwash" sales representatives.
The website cited local newspaper Nice-Matin describing Tiens Group director Li Jinyuan as a controversial figure who behaves like a "religious leader" and stating that the company has been put under scrutiny by the mainland media for its direct sales model. Another Chinese netizen cited by the website questioned whether Li is a philanthropist or an egomaniac. The French newspaper reported that Li has organized similar events elsewhere over recent years, on one occasion renting an entire sports stadium in Indonesia and making an entrance to the event via helicopter in front of thousands of employees.
