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The previous CEO (and founder) Jack Ma of the company behind Qwen (Alibaba) was literally disappeared by the CCP. I suspect the current CEO really, really want

by lysace 9mo ago

The previous CEO (and founder) Jack Ma of the company behind Qwen (Alibaba) was literally disappeared by the CCP. I suspect the current CEO really, really wants to avoid that fate. Better safe than sorry. Here's a piece about his sudden return after five years of reprogramming: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/01/nx-s1-5308604/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-returns-5-years-after-largely-disappearing-from-public-view https://www.npr.org/2025/03/01/nx-s1-5308604/alibaba-founder... NPR's Scott Simon talks to writer Duncan Clark about the return of Jack Ma, founder of online Chinese retailer Alibaba. The tech exec had gone quiet after comments critical of China in 2020.

sillysaurusx 9mo ago
What did he say to get himself disappeared by the CCP?
- kasey_junk 9mo ago
  Or undisappeared for that matter.
- anonzzzies 9mo ago
  He critized the outdated financial regulatory system of the ccp publicly.
- michaelt 9mo ago
  Apparently, this: https://interconnected.blog/jack-ma-bund-finance-summit-speech/ https://interconnected.blog/jack-ma-bund-finance-summit-spee... To my western ears, the speech doesn't seem all that shocking. Over here it's normal for the CEOs of financial services companies to argue they should be subject to fewer regulations, for 'innovation' and 'growth' (but they still want the taxpayer to bail them out when they gamble and lose). I don't know if that stuff is just not allowed in China, or if there was other stuff going on too.
  - lysace 9mo ago
    He was also being widely ridiculed in the west over this interaction with Elon Musk in August 2019, back when Elon was still kinda widely popular. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3lUEnMaiAU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3lUEnMaiAU "I call AI Alibaba Intelligence", etc. (Yeah, I know, Apple stole that one.) Reddit moment: "When Elon Musk realised China's richest man is an idiot ( Jack Ma )" https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/cy40bc/when_elon_musk_realised_chinas_richest_man_is_an/ https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/cy40bc/when_elon_mu... I can see the extended loss of face of China (real or perceived) at the time being a factor. Edit: So, after posting a couple of admittedly quite anti CCP comments here, let's just say I realize why a lot of people are using throwaway accounts to do so.
deleted 9mo ago
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by lysace 9mo ago

sillysaurusx 9mo ago

What did he say to get himself disappeared by the CCP?

kasey_junk 9mo ago
Or undisappeared for that matter.
anonzzzies 9mo ago
He critized the outdated financial regulatory system of the ccp publicly.
michaelt 9mo ago
Apparently, this: https://interconnected.blog/jack-ma-bund-finance-summit-speech/ https://interconnected.blog/jack-ma-bund-finance-summit-spee... To my western ears, the speech doesn't seem all that shocking. Over here it's normal for the CEOs of financial services companies to argue they should be subject to fewer regulations, for 'innovation' and 'growth' (but they still want the taxpayer to bail them out when they gamble and lose). I don't know if that stuff is just not allowed in China, or if there was other stuff going on too.
- lysace 9mo ago
  He was also being widely ridiculed in the west over this interaction with Elon Musk in August 2019, back when Elon was still kinda widely popular. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3lUEnMaiAU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3lUEnMaiAU "I call AI Alibaba Intelligence", etc. (Yeah, I know, Apple stole that one.) Reddit moment: "When Elon Musk realised China's richest man is an idiot ( Jack Ma )" https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/cy40bc/when_elon_musk_realised_chinas_richest_man_is_an/ https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/cy40bc/when_elon_mu... I can see the extended loss of face of China (real or perceived) at the time being a factor. Edit: So, after posting a couple of admittedly quite anti CCP comments here, let's just say I realize why a lot of people are using throwaway accounts to do so.

deleted 9mo ago

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