Recently, Yu Minhong, founder of New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU), sparked controversy after releasing an internal letter celebrating the company's 32nd anniversary from Antarctica. On November 18, Li Yang, founder of Crazy English, publicly criticized Yu on social media, urging him to "return to reality" and stop delivering motivational clichés.

In a video, Li Yang bluntly called Yu Minhong "foolish," stating, "If I were a New Oriental employee, I would have revolted long ago." He advised Yu to abandon his arrogant demeanor and cease feeding employees empty motivational rhetoric. Instead, Li suggested Yu take inspiration from Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors (TSLA), saying, "Musk slept on the factory floor for three years to build his empire."

Earlier reports revealed that Yu Minhong's celebratory letter, intended to inspire employees, backfired, with some staff expressing frustration over their CEO's Antarctic vacation. On November 18, Yu further fueled discontent by posting ten travel videos from his trip.