In August 2017, a Beijing newspaper published a report on poor hygiene in the kitchens of two Beijing restaurants of the hotpot chain Haidilao. A reporter had worked there undercover. On August 25, Haidilao posted an apology letter on Weibo. “After investigation, the company believes that the problems disclosed in the media reports are true,” it said. They “exposed problems in our management.”
A second statement said the incidents came from deeper management problems and that the main responsibility lay with the board. Commentators summed up the response in three lines: “I carry the pot, I correct the mistake, I keep paying the staff.” The wording comes from commentators, not from the company’s statements.