Charles Bi-chuen Xue () is a Chinese-American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

and angel investor, better known by his screen name Xue Manzi. He was one of the founders of

UTStarcom UTStarcom () is a Chinese global telecom infrastructure provider headquartered in Beijing. The company develops and supplies a broad range of telecommunication devices to communications service providers and network operators including fixed and ...

, the Chairman of 8848 Electronic Commerce Network, the Chairman of Prcedu.

Biography

Xue was born in

Guangdong Province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

in 1953. His father,

Xue Zizheng Xue Zizheng (; 1905 - 1980) was a Chinese politician who served as deputy head of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) between 1958 and 1966. Biography Xue was born in Lirang Town of L ...

, was the vice minister of the

United Front Work Department The United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (UFWD; ) is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which is officially tasked with " united front work". For this endea ...

.北京警方：薛蛮子因涉嫌嫖娼被抓获
During his childhood, Xue lived in Toufa

Hutong ''Hutong'' () are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of ''siheyuan'', traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods wer ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. In 1966 when Xue was thirteen years old, the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...

was launched by

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

, during which his father Xue Zizheng was isolated and jailed. Two years later, Xue went to Urad Front Banner to work as a

Sent-down youth The sent-down, rusticated, or "educated" youth (), also known as the ''zhiqing'', were the young people who—beginning in the 1950s until the end of the Cultural Revolution, willingly or under coercion—left the urban districts of the ...

in the

Down to the Countryside Movement The Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement, often known simply as the Down to the Countryside Movement, was a policy instituted in the People's Republic of China between mid 1950s and 1978. As a result of what he perceived t ...

. In 1976, Xue worked at Wenwu Publisher as an editor, and started to learn English from

Xiao Qian Xiao Qian (27 January 1910 – 11 February 1999), alias Ruoping (), was a famous essayist, editor, journalist and translator from China. His life spanned the country's history before and after the establishment of the People's Republic of C ...

, Shen Congwen and

Li Jianwu Li Jianwu (; 17 August 1906 - 24 November 1982) was a Chinese author, dramatist and translator who was the president of French Literature Research Council. Li was an officer of the Chinese State Council and a member of National Committee of the C ...

. He translated the'' White House Guard'' into Chinese with his friend and got 468 yuan.薛蛮子 “老奸巨猾”的天使投资人
In 1978, Xue was accepted to the

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...

, he entered

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

in 1980, and he made the acquaintance of Masayoshi Son, , and Stan Lai. Before graduating, Xue was employed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. After graduating, Xue worked in

ThyssenKrupp ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It is the result of the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg and ...

. In June 1991, Xue returned to Beijing, he founded Unitech with Lu Hongliang and Wang Zuguang. In 2011, Xue founded 8848 Electronic Commerce Network. In 2008, Xue settled back in Beijing with his wife and children. In August 2013, Xue attended a meeting which was convened by Lu Wei, the Chairman of the

State Council Information Office The State Council Information Office (SCIO; ) is the chief information office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. In 2014, SCIO was absorbed into the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histor ...

. On 23 August 2013, Xue was arrested for soliciting a prostitute by the

Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau () is a department of the municipal government of Beijing. It serves as the city's public security bureau and branch of the people's police under the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) The headquarters ...

. But Xue’s real offense was his custom of sharing his ideas about corruption and political reform with his more than twelve-million followers on Weibo. Xue's arrest is regarded as part of China authority's plan to take back control of public opinion online. Later Xue apologized on

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly tr ...

, explaining that he came across prostitution while working abroad in countries like

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In his public apology, he explained that he often "did not verify the facts very thoroughly," "did not give constructive advice or opinion," and "focused simply on spreading the message" in his Weibo posts that he said were "full of emotion." Xue was released on bail in April 2014 "because he was sick," according to the Beijing police.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Xue, Biqun 1953 births Living people Businesspeople from Beijing Sent-down youths University of California, Berkeley alumni American businesspeople American people of Chinese descent Chinese Internet celebrities