A private video of Pan Shiyi discussing Ren Zhiqiang spread inside the Great Firewall, after which it was banned across the entire internet; the names involved were also said to have become sensitive words.
A recording of a private dinner in the United States at which Pan Shiyi discussed the Ren Zhiqiang case and a list of 11 people has circulated on Weibo and the X platform, drawing attention.
On April 16, 2026, Pan Shiyi published a long essay titled “My Reflection,” in which he said that China’s real estate sector over the past 30 years bore the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme. The article was subsequently taken down.
After Pan Shiyi arrived in New York in September 2020, a friend who interacted closely with him on Weibo was arrested for mailing a letter containing sensitive information to eleven people, leaving Pan Shiyi unable to return to China to this day.
After Ren Zhiqiang's article circulated, he lost contact for a time; Pan Shiyi later said that 10 other recipients besides himself were all arrested.
Ren Zhiqiang wrote "The People's Interests" and sent it through private channels to eleven people, including Pan Shiyi.
A house-price article falsely attributed to Ren Zhiqiang has been circulating online, and Pan Shiyi responded on Ren Zhiqiang's behalf through his own Weibo account.
Pan Shiyi has stopped acquiring land and begun selling off SOHO assets on a large scale in Shanghai and other locations, cashing out a cumulative total of approximately 30 billion RMB.
Big Fifty-Cent Sima Nan publicly questioned Pan Shiyi and Ren Zhiqiang over suspected benefit transfers and the embezzlement of state-owned assets, slapping them with the "Pan-Ren-Mei" label.
According to a friend of Pan Shiyi, after the internet management meeting requested attendees to post less critical content, Ren Zhiqiang immediately retorted by asking if it was wrong to speak up when one is in the right.
In an interview with People magazine, Ren Zhiqiang talked about Pan Shiyi's Bahá'í faith and said that he believes in the Chinese Communist Party, and that the two can still be friends.
According to the program's account, before and after Xi Jinping came to power, the Pan family purchased several large properties in the United States.
Zhang Xin set up the offshore trust 11 days after Pan Shiyi transferred the relevant rights and interests; afterwards, SOHO China's listing documents disclosed the relevant offshore shareholding structure.
Pan Shiyi gifted the interests of relevant companies to Zhang Xin, as part of SOHO China's offshore structural arrangements.
Through a structure of BVI companies plus a Cayman Islands trust, Pan Shiyi placed as much as 94.78% of SOHO China's equity into an overseas offshore trust.