Posted on 08/23/2021 8:00:03 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Given the recent decimation in U.S. listed China based stocks, it is becoming abundantly clear who is running the show in China.
And no one person is coming to that realization quicker than Jack Ma. Once revered as a beacon of success and entrepreneurship out of China, Ma's outspoken nature and boisterous antics saw him fall out of favor with the Chinese Communist Party - quickly.
Such was the topic of a new, comprehensive Wall Street Journal report, which detailed the lesson Ma is now learning first hand: there is only one most powerful man in China.
How did Ma - who now is rarely, if ever, seen in public - fall out of favor with the CCP? He "behaved too much like an American entrepreneur," the report says.
After Ma gave a speech in October criticizing Chinese regulators for "stifling financial innovation", days later his $34 billion IPO of Ant Group had been blocked by the CCP. Since then, the company has had to restructure its business.
Within "hours" of his speech in October, state regulators began to compile reports on his companies and their operations.
Additionally, when Ant filed its IPO, the Journal reported that some regulators were "caught off guard" at how big the company's lending business had become.
Ant was also seen as "acting arrogantly" during its IPO roadshow, requiring people to make presentations if they wanted to invest, and limiting attendance for meetings with the company's executives, the report said.
And despite the company being in a "silent period" prior to its IPO, Jack Ma instead "live-streamed a singalong last September with Faye Wong, a Chinese pop superstar"
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Now, Ma has been forced to hit the brakes: no more singalongs with Chinese pop stars, no more days dressing up as Michael Jackson. Instead of jetsetting globally and taking meetings, he has resorted to golfing and hiring a teacher to learn oil painting.
Ma also took to Beijing to try and smooth over his relationship with the government recently, but it was "too little, too late," the Wall Street Journal reported. Ma had already "strayed too far out of his lane". One of the world's richest men was brought to heel in just under a year...
"His ambition and outspoken nature, traits that drew a strong following among many in China, would no longer be tolerated in the tightened grip of Mr. Xi and the ruling party," the report said.
One Beijing official told the WSJ that Ma should have focused on “giving back to the Party instead of just focusing on his own interests.”
Now, we're seeing the same type of "reining in" with other businesses in China, including Didi, where the CCP has also recently initiated regulatory probes in hope of having the business operate closer to the state's interests.
You can read the WSJ's full report on Ma's history with the CCP here.
That's funny, because too many of our tech leaders act like Chinese communists.
Pretty much how our government operates these days, too.
Jack Ma is still breathing?
I’m not kidding... this has been a continuous joke in China.
There have been numerous sightings of Jack Ma.
He’s like China’s Elvis Presley... everybody seems to be seeing him.
I can see them not liking is ostentatious. But if I recall correctly his website brings in something like $100 billion a year to Chinese industries. Hard to really not like someone who can do that for you.
Of course it’s China so they can just take it from him.
European girlfriends. Jus t look at the Work leader.
Horse Cloud is now parts and pieces in an organ donor cooler.
From an American who speaks fluent Mandarin, lived in China for 10 years, worked, ran his own business, married, had kids, and was forced to flee for his life.
What Really Happened to Jack Ma? (2021)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbP__1fmF0U
Why China’s Billionaires are Terrified (2021)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykOKnO9R368
Pretty obvious what they’re doing. They got what they needed out of Capitalism (modernization) and now need to reign-in those forces so that they can begin their ‘long march’ to control the world. And with 1.4B people, they can do just that, unless Russia stops them with their big toys.
The second post on the thread and nailed it quite succinctly!!
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