What has happened to Alibaba founder Jack Ma? Why is he missing?

China’s celebrated entrepreneur and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has reportedly not been seen since November. As per several media reports in the international media, the billionaire has not appeared in a public setting since late October.

Reuters has reported that Jack Ma had blasted China’s regulatory system in a speech in Shanghai, post which he has not been seen anywhere. Recently, he was supposed to appear as a judge on a show. However, he played truant, intensifying speculations that the Xi Jinping administration may have done the unthinkable to him. 

In an interesting piece, Business Insider wrote about what happened to other Chinese businessmen who mysteriously disappeared from the public after sparring with regulators. This is quite ominous, to say the least. 

Indian commentator Brahma Chellaney, who is regarded as a China expert, wrote that Xi Jinping’s action against Jack Ma’s empire shows his zero tolerance for dissent. He added that the same will have a chilling effect on China’s private sector. Curiously or otherwise, Jack Ma was once a Chinese Communist Party member who justified the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. “He made the mistake of criticizing the regulatory system and calling for economic reform,” Chellaney tweeted.