China Wants Alibaba Founder Jack Ma to Lose His Media Assets: Reports rfa.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rfa.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Updated Mar 16, 2021 | 17:13 IST
Chinese authorities have reportedly asked Alibaba Group Holdings to come up with a plan to divest in media assets fearing growing influence over public opinion China asks Alibaba to divest media assets fearing tech giant s growing sway on public opinion | Photo Credit: IANS
Vary of the tech giant’s influence on public opinion in China, authorities have asked the Alibaba Group to divest its interest in media assets amid a continued crackdown on billionaire Jack Ma founded conglomerate.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the discussions on the matter have continued since early this year as Chinese government officials became concerned of the Hangzhou-based company’s “expansive” media interests.
China asks Alibaba to sell media assets amid crackdown on Jack Ma
Alibaba founder Jack Ma has found himself at the centre of Beijing s crackdown on tech firms (Getty Images)
China is said to have asked Alibaba to sell its assets in the media sector as Beijing continues to pile pressure on the company’s billionaire founder Jack Ma.
The two sides have been in discussions over the matter since the beginning of the year, according to multiple media reports, with officials said to be shocked at the scale of Alibaba’s media interests.
The company, which is primarily focused on ecommerce, has stakes in news outlets including Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, as well as Twitter-equivalent platform Weibo.
China’s Himalayan salami tactic an effective tool for expansion
China is using the same strategy on the roof of the world as has driven its spread in the South China Sea: gradual encroachment followed by militarized construction
By Brahma Chellaney
Emboldened by its cost-free expansion in the South China Sea, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) regime has stepped up efforts to replicate that model in the Himalayas. In particular, China is aggressively building many new villages in disputed borderlands to extend or consolidate its control over strategically important areas that India, Bhutan and Nepal maintain fall within their national boundaries.
China's parliament on Thursday adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan, the mega blueprint containing billions of dollars worth of projects, including the controversial hydropower project on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet close to the Arunachal Pradesh border over which India has raised concerns.