Jack Ma's detention rumour refuted by authoritative sources in China

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A person surnamed Ma has reportedly been imposed curbs in Hangzhou by Chinese authorities. However, a report from CCTV said the accused person’s name contains three Chinese characters instead of two, as Ma's name contains two Chinese characters only.

According to Chinese state media CCTV, the person was placed under compulsory measures after being accused of inciting subversion of state power and other activities endangering national security. The case is under investigation, according to the same report. Former editor-in-chief of Global Times Hu Xijin said on his Weibo that he had confirmed the news with an "authoritative department" about the news. The name of the detained person contains three characters. "Reports that mention the detained person with his or her name containing only two characters are incorrect," he said.

Associate professor of the college of international relations, Huaqiao University Huang Rihan also posted a set of photos showing Ma plating tress, confirming that Ma is safe. He added, "He was plating trees on 1 May." In another post, he said," The person who mistakenly wrote the news should bear the responsibility. With the difference of only one character, the stock loses ¥100 billion."

Headquartered in Hangzhou, Alibaba is one of the tech companies that are heavily regulated by the Chinese government in recent years. For example, it was given a US$2.8 billion antitrust fine imposed by China's State Administration for Market Regulation. The regulator said in a statement that since 2015, the group "has abused its dominant position in the market" and imposed a "Choose one out of two" requirement for its merchants. It also claimed that this has prohibited Alibaba's merchants from opening stores or participating in promotional activities on other rival platforms.

The investigation, which began in December 2020, concluded that Alibaba's "choice of two" behaviour "eliminates and restricts competition" in China's eCommerce market and "hinders the free circulation of commodity services and resource elements", the State Administration for Market Regulation said. It added that this also "affects the innovation and development of the platform economy".

On the same day that Alibaba was hit with the fine, the company issued a statement saying that it "[accepts] the penalty with sincerity and will ensure [its] compliance with determination". It also expressed gratitude for the trust and patience that its merchants, consumers, partners and shareholders have given the company.

Moreover, Alibaba Group chairman Daniel Zhang left the board at Weibo in January He was replaced by CMO Chris Tung who was also previously CEO of VML China and served as vice president of marketing at PepsiCo China. In a statement, Weibo said Zhang had resigned from the board of directors, effective from 10 January 2022. The company said it would like to express its gratitude to him for his contributions and his services during his tenure as a director of the company. Weibo added that Tung has "valuable and relevant qualifications and experience that qualify him to succeed Zhang".

Zhang also recently resigned from the board of Didi Global. The ride hailing company appointed Zhang Yi as director at the same time. Zhang is senior legal director of Alibaba Group and general counsel of Alibaba Local Services Company. He joined Alibaba Group in August 2014. Before joining Alibaba Group, Zhang practiced law with several international law firms and is a licensed attorney in the State of New York. In December last year, Bloomberg reported that Alibaba was exploring options to sell off its approximate 30% stake in Weibo to Shanghai Media Group.

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