Jack Ma speaks at the Vivatech Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fair in Paris, France, in 2019.
Jack Ma, the once-prominent founder of Alibaba, has now been “fixed” by the Chinese Communist Party, and foreign media have revealed in detail how Ma became so involved with Xi Jinping that he was heavily fined 18.228 billion yuan, and his fortunes have remained precarious ever since.
On April 15, the Financial Times published an article titled “The disappearing tycoon: How Jack Ma offended Xi Jinping”. The article pointed out that Ma had accompanied Xi Jinping on his visit to the United States in 2015, but then became too exposed and stole the limelight from the Communist Party’s top brass, leading to retaliation.
Three feet of ice is not a day
It is widely believed that Ma angered Xi because of his shocking criticism of the “system” at the Lujiazui Financial Forum in Shanghai last October. But a survey by the Financial Times shows that Ma’s friction with the Communist Party’s top brass has been building for a long time. They can no longer tolerate Ma’s efforts to establish himself as “the leader of the Chinese economy” and to dance on the international stage.
Ma has all sorts of auras – a world asset tycoon, an unofficial goodwill ambassador for the Communist Party who donated thousands of respirators and more than 100 million masks to countries around the world at the start of last year’s epidemic, and a member of a United Nations committee with royalty, presidents and prime ministers. His influence in the country is unparalleled, and he is known as “Papa Ma” to young netizens. Under a Communist Party that allows only one center of power, Ma’s appeal is a red flag.
In 2011, Ma decided to take over Alipay unilaterally, a rather bold move at the time. in September 2019, Ali acquired a 33% stake in Ant Group, whose de facto controller is Jack Ma. At this point, if Ma Yun was playing a game of chess, his confidence was growing.
“Wuzhen Conference Dinner” was left out
Every year the Chinese Communist Party held the Wuzhen World Internet Conference, the most striking scene is the Internet bigwigs gathered at the “Wuzhen Night” rivers and lakes dinner, the participants are mainland China’s Internet personalities, including Ma Huateng, Yang Yuanqing, Liu Qiangdong, Lei Jun, Ding Lei and others, and to the 2017 Wuzhen Conference, is the fourth year Ma was absent “dinner party”.
The Financial Times reported that a person who worked closely with Ma said he was angry at being left out and “lost his temper” and that “his ego was too big.” said the source.
When asked by reporters about the Wuzhen dinner, Ma said, “I didn’t consider attending, and no one invited me.” “Believe it or not, if I really want to open a dinner, I can invite the world class elite.”
Jack Ma opened a “world-class dinner” Liu He did not share
Then a few months later, that is, at the Davos meeting in January 2018, Jack Ma did set up a “world-class meal”. On the first night of the Davos Forum, he invited more than 30 international “old friends” to a so-called “Chinese cultural feast”. The guest list included kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, prime ministers and three heads of international organizations, as well as many top Western business leaders such as Bill Gates.
But Liu He, also attending Davos and a member of Xi’s inner circle, was absent from the banquet, having been appointed by Xi to lead China’s financial industry and to deliver a speech at Davos the next day.
Ma was comfortable communicating with the heads of state, fluent in English, sharp and playful, and doing magic tricks in the room, a far cry from the wooden, official manner of Chinese Communist Party officials. He is seen as the “face of China” in some contexts, and although he often praises the Chinese Communist Party to the Western world, his enormous influence is a source of great discontent for the Communist Party leadership.
The CCP “doesn’t like to be represented on the world stage”
The Financial Times analyzed that Ma’s role as a private sector businessman speaking on behalf of a Communist Party-ruled country made the Communist Party leadership uncomfortable.
One of Ma’s partners has said that Ma is now “overwhelmed with merit” and that “they don’t like him representing China [the Communist Party] on the world stage.”
After dinner in Davos, Ma flew to Bordeaux, where he bought a château and vineyard, met with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth in April, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah II of Jordan in May, and then visited a series of world capitals in the summer of 2018, spending more than half a year overseas.
Official Chinese Communist Party unease is becoming increasingly apparent. A source close to the Hangzhou government said, “What he [Ma] says in public and in private can be embarrassing to China [the CCP].” He added that Ma has to “report back” to the top when he returns home, and “they ask about his travels.”
The rapid fall from “Papa Ma” to “vampire”
Last November, Ma failed to appear on “Startup Africa,” a show he produces and judges, and rumors surfaced that he had been placed under house arrest or fled to Singapore.
Ma’s reputation was tarnished as he got into more trouble. With the incitement of the Chinese Communist media, the public sentiment on the mainland changed and “Papa Ma” became a street rat, being called a “villain”, an “evil capitalist” and a “vampire”. He was called a “villain”, “evil capitalist” and “vampire”. One writer listed Ma’s “ten sins” and some people started calling him “son” or “grandson”.
On a cold Sunday in late January, after three months of absence, Jack Ma made a surprise visit to a remote elementary school, where he filmed a short, “politically safe” video, ostensibly to chronicle his charitable activities, but of course more importantly to let the world know that he was still “free. free agency”.
The trip was edited into a video that immediately made global headlines: Jack Ma made an appearance, which put Alibaba’s financing plans back on track at the time.
The fact that Ma had to spend hours in the countryside to make this video shows how quickly and brutally Ma has fallen from the clouds, the paper said. A few months ago he was the reigning world business leader and the envy of the global economy for Ant Financial’s $37 billion IPO.
Recent Comments