Jack Ma, founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
The Jack Ma controversy has rocked the Chinese tycoon community. A few days ago, the “Taishan Club”, a club of China’s top tycoons that Jack Ma had joined, announced its dissolution. Some analysts say that Ma’s experience means that the authorities are turning the knife on private enterprises, and that private entrepreneurs are trying to keep a low profile for fear of becoming the next Ma.
Private entrepreneurs in China formed the Taishan Institute of Industry in 1998, also known as the “Taishan Association”. The members are all Chinese business leaders, including: Lenovo Liu Chuanzhi, Giant Shi Yuzhu, Si Tong Duan Yongji, Baidu Li Yanhong, Vantone Feng Lun, Pan Ocean Lu Zhiqiang, Fosun Guo Guangchang, Yuanda Zhang Yue, Xinyuan Holdings Lin Rongqiang, Duan Yongping, Kehai Chen Qingzhen, Corey Zheng Yuewen, Sida Wang Yuansi, Hengdian Group Xu Wenrong, He Guang Business Wu Li, Huayi Brothers Wang Zhongjun and other 16 people.
The membership fee of Taishan Club is as high as one million yuan, and there is an internal principle: “no recording, no recording, no publicity, no invitation to leaders”, so it is considered to be China
It is considered to be one of the most popular clubs in China.
Ma had been invited to join the club by Liu Chuanzhi, who had previously told the media that members had to pay a leave fee for missing activities, 10,000 yuan for the first leave and 200,000 for the second. Jack Ma was the member who loved to take leave most, and often took leave of absence. After that, Jack Ma quit the “Taishan Club” and set up the Zhejiang Business Association.
However, this top tycoon club suddenly announced its disbandment recently, causing public concern. According to Chinese financial media, the Taishan Club has completed the cancellation process with the relevant authorities.
It is said that the dissolution of the Taishan Club was due to disagreements and deep conflicts among its members, and that the dissolution was “inevitable. However, some analysts believe that Ma Yun, who was once a member of Taishan, has been in a series of recent storms that have rocked the Taishan Club.
Public information shows that Ma launched the founding of Lakeside University, nine initiators, Taishan Club members accounted for more than half. Now that Ma has been beaten down, the Taishan Society’s bigwigs are worried about becoming the next Ma, and disbanding the Society could be considered a clear-cut move to save their own lives.
In a recent report by the Hinrich Foundation, researcher Alex Capri noted that “under Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party is tightening its grip on the technology industry and strengthening its tech nationalist initiatives. “
In the past, Chinese entrepreneurs have successfully convinced investors that their businesses are independent of the Communist Party, though with Jack Ma’s business empire in the sights of Beijing authorities, investors are putting a big question mark over such claims. Alibaba’s stock price continues to fall, indicating that investor confidence is draining away.
A few days ago, Jack Ma made a low-key appearance via video, and Alibaba’s stock price then rose. But a few hours later, Ali shares fell again after the Communist Party’s central bank released a draft of new rules that directly target Ant Group and Alibaba, releasing signals that Ant will be split up.
Block Silvers, investment chief at Kaiyuan Capital, a Hong Kong-based investment advisory firm, said that Jack Ma had emerged but was not out of the woods yet.
Not only Ma’s technology companies were hammered by the authorities, Tencent, Jingdong and other online technology companies were also affected. The Voice of Germany quoted an analysis saying that the Chinese Communist Party is taking Ma to task for preventing the “financial risks” that have been stressed over the past year, on the one hand, and showing that the authorities will be more stringent in controlling private enterprises on the other.
On Dec. 12 last year, the CPC held a forum in Beijing on the theme of “Zhang Jian’s spirit”, a famous industrialist in the late Qing Dynasty, to advocate entrepreneurs to promote the country through industry.
The General Office of the CPC Central Committee also issued an opinion earlier, asking private entrepreneurs to “listen to the Party, follow the Party, and be politically clear”.
Analysts believe that the face of the United States all-round sanctions, as well as the economic difficulties brought about by the Communist Party of China virus Epidemic, the Chinese Communist Party has no money to toss, the urgent need for private enterprises to “take money to save the party”.
Financial scholar Commander told Free Asia that the Chinese Communist Party can now be said to be bullying private entrepreneurs, if entrepreneurs do not take money to the Chinese Communist Party to relieve their difficulties, they will be seen as unpatriotic, the Chinese Communist Party will make hard moves to force private entrepreneurs to comply.
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