Xi's Disappearing Critics

"Beijing has 'disappeared' Jack Ma, which means any number of extra judicial processes to detain him."

"This is a message to all entrepreneurs and businessmen not to become too successful or famous."

"It [the Chinese Communist Party politburo at Xi Jinping's behest] will take down anyone who it sees as a threat, broadly defined."

Dan Blumenthal, director, Asian Studies, American Enterprise Institute

"The challenge that China's government may face is that by taking aim at these large homegrown technology companies, they could also be almost suffocating innovation."

"It's a message to the market that if you get too big, we're gonna come after you. And that's never an incentive for an entrepreneur with big ambitions."

"China is clearly playing more of a role in [companies'] direct operations, almost as if the Chinese Communist Party is now a board member of these companies."

Abishur Prakash, head, Centre for Innovating the Future

"Doing business in China is akin to doing business in a neighbourhood controlled by the Mafia."

"Things might go well for a while, even a long while, but then one day the mob decides it's over."

"Only Western financiers and the CEO class don't seem to understand this."

Grant Newsham, senior fellow, Centre for Security Policy

Jack Ma speaks during the 2020 China Green Companies Summit last September.

He's a billionaire, worth in excess of $50 billion, an ebullient, high-spirited entrepreneur, world-famous, a celebrity given to exhibitionism in a spirit of good fun. He is also a member of China's Communist Party, yet it seems not as given to genuflecting before China's president and the presiding government authorities as a good, loyal Chinese multi-billionaire, corporate head should be, ready at the slightest  hint to do the government's bidding, be a part of its global outreach for recognition, respect, power.

Jack Ma has worked assiduously over the years as a hard-to-repress businessman-entrepreneur-futurist extraordinaire, but not in service to the Chinese Communist Party, but to himself and his idealization of Chinese-style capitalization done with style and flair, both of which he has in abundance, a cheerful, self-made man always prepared to encourage others to pursue their dreams as he had his. And so, unsurprisingly, his errant sense of loyalty has come with its own punishment.

Meted out generously from time to time by Beijing targeting those who think they're bigger than the state, just because they've parlayed their intelligence and work ethic, foresight and innovation into a leading-edge enterprise making them wealthy, accomplished, sought-after and giving them world-renown in their field of production. Delusional in a sense, living under the shadow of a man whose ambition for himself and his country brooks no competitors in authority, recognition and respect. And who must be taught to abase themselves.

 

Jack Ma performs at Alibaba's 20th-anniversary celebration in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China in 2019.

 

Onlookers and likely well-wishers, have looked on for years, predicting Jack Ma's comeuppance, downfall, for his lack of discretionary caution. He is too bold, too confident, too enterprising, too flamboyant, and now no one really knows where he is. Those with experience who have studied Beijing and its president, have the confidence of knowing that Jack Ma's parade couldn't continue indefinitely. And so the rain came down, he was obviously taken into 'protective custody', under a state canopy.

A master of e-commerce, he saw potential long before others did when he founded Alibaba Group in 1999 at a time when Internet use in China was just edging its way into existence. In another five years he branched out to launch Alipay, and in short order both of his ventures dominated their industries. then in October he was set to launch another innovative initiative, an online finance company, Ant Group, as an extension of Alipay with a $35-billion stock market debut.

Alibaba, e-commerce platform. (Guang Niu/Getty Images)

But, not so fast. In calling Chinese regulators too conservative, recommending they be more innovative, he triggered a response. Those same regulators nixed his project. He got the message, dialled down his enthusiasm becoming less ... public. International investors would like to believe that Jack Ma has simply chosen to retreat into quiet, contemplative retirement. Lest he continue to antagonize the authorities in Beijing who fail to appreciate challenges to their decision-making authority.

Behind the scenes investors from the international investment community are taking note. Should Mr. Ma's sudden absence prove to be the result of Beijing deciding to discipline him, removing him from the public sphere as operational head of his e-commerce empire, the signal that Beijing has closed down for business entries from abroad would see international investment trickle to a halt, and those deep in investment worrying about the future of their financial commitments.

Property tycoon Ren Zhiqiant last year disappeared when he disapproved of the COVID-19 reaction of the government. He was eventually sentenced to 18 years behind bars for corruption, bribery and embezzlement of public funds. A distinct warning to others lacking sufficient respect and loyalty to the government. The former chairman of Huarong Asset Management of China was sentenced last week to death in a long-running bribery case. Lai Xiaomin had pleaded guilty to accepting bribes as a former banking regulator.

Executives of international concerns eager to invest in China to take advantage of its huge market have been warned for years to avoid expanding to China or to accept investment from the country with the concern that such deals could end in sanctions or theft of intellectual property. Growing instances of Western retaliation against Chinese technology companies has had the effect of cooling the Western appetite for Chinese business deals.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma was publicly scolded a few months ago, and hasn't been active in public since. (Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Speculation on Mr. Ma's whereabouts led to a spate of media posts outside of China. In one instance an old video resurfaced of exiled billionaire Miles Kwok giving warning that Ma would eventually end up in jail "or dead" with the government pursuing Ant Financial. The "disorderly" flow of capital drew attention at a conference held by leaders of the Chinese Communist Party in December, discussing important topics for the year to come.

"I think there's one overall message that the party is really sending, and that is that tech entrepreneurs may be the most glamorous, the most publicly favorable face that China is showing to the world."

"But there is no one individual, no one company bigger than the Chinese Communist Party."

"[On one level, Chinese authorities liked that Ma represented a high-powered and glamorous version of China] because one of the things the Chinese Communist Party has found it almost impossible to do is to create soft power in the world."

"The squelching of the big name tech entrepreneurs is part of that wider process by the party to take back control, and really rewrite the narrative of how China's tech innovation takes place only under the circumstances the party will allow."

"The ability of a figure like Jack Ma to speak out will be harder, and I think this will actually create a further problem for China's desire to generate soft power. Nobody really takes seriously figures from any country who go around the world simply spouting the government line."

Rana Mitter, professor of history and politics of modern China, Oxford University