Quotable

"There is no need for the public to hate rich people. The wealth of the rich deserves respect from society. All the wealth created in China belongs to the State."

Zong Qinghou, chairman of China's biggest beverage producer, Hangzhou Wahaha Group, quoted as saying by China Philanthropist magazine on Thursday. Zong, ranked China's richest man with a net worth of $11.6 billion, also criticized the concept of helping the poor by robbing the rich. Once such a concept is put into practice, he said, it will spark an exodus of wealthy people from the country, creating a tremendous loss of State assets.