Zhang Xin, the CEO of real estate giant SOHO China, and her husband, Pan Shiyi, have been blasted on social media for their decision to establish a scholarship fund enabling underprivileged Chinese students to study at Harvard rather than supporting tertiary education in China, Campden FB reports.

The couple announced in July that they had established a $15 million scholarship fund to enable Chinese students to study at Harvard University and that they planned to expand the effort by establishing scholarshipsat other top universities around the world. In the wake of the announcement, however, the couple was subjected to a "deluge of criticism" online, where Pan, who chairs the SOHO China board, has nearly seventeen million followers on Sina Weibo, a microblogging site. One Sina Weibo user remarked, "They despise their own country and people," while another commented: "Taking Chinese people's money and giving it to people who are able to study in America — what a great definition of 'poverty'!" Other users of the site defended the couple, arguing that they had a right to do whatever they wanted with their money.

In response, Zhang said on her Weibo account that good education will be reserved for the wealthy unless disadvantaged students are funded. "Our scholarships will change this phenomenon," she added.