"Suddenly Leaves in Final Episode"... Jack Ma Faces 'Humiliation' Being Dropped from TV Show He Created

[Image source = Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Amid intensifying pressure from Chinese authorities, Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, has been removed from the TV show he planned and produced.

On the 2nd, the Financial Times (FT) reported that Jack Ma, facing his greatest crisis due to his critical remarks about the government, suddenly withdrew from the final episode of the TV show "Africa's Business Heroes," in which he was appearing.

The FT stated that recently, Jack Ma's image was removed from the program's website and promotional videos, and at the final episode's filming site, an Alibaba executive appeared in his place. Alibaba also said, "Due to scheduling conflicts, founder Jack Ma was unable to participate as a judge in the final episode."

Originally, Jack Ma was supposed to listen to business proposals from novice entrepreneurs and judge them. This program was produced in 2019 as part of Jack Ma's African public welfare projects, where young entrepreneurs from various African countries present their business ideas in front of Jack Ma for evaluation. The final winner receives a large cash prize from the Jack Ma Foundation. It was essentially a personal project planned by Jack Ma.

However, the last time Jack Ma officially mentioned this competition was in August. Through Twitter, he congratulated the 20 entrepreneurs participating in the competition and said, "I look forward to meeting them soon."

Jack Ma's withdrawal from the self-produced TV show appears to be due to pressure from Chinese authorities. One participant said, "When I reached the finals, the judge was replaced from Jack Ma to Lucy Peng, Alibaba's co-founder," adding, "At that moment, I guessed something had happened to Jack Ma."

Earlier, on October 24, Jack Ma gave a speech at the Shanghai Waibaidu Financial Summit attended by Vice President Wang Qishan and People's Bank of China Governor Yi Gang, openly criticizing China's financial system, which drew the ire of Chinese authorities.

He pointed out the problems in China's financial system as a "lack of functionality," stating, "You cannot manage an airport the way you manage a train station; you cannot manage the future with past methods," openly criticizing the Chinese government's fintech regulations.

Subsequently, the authorities indefinitely postponed the IPO of Ant Group, Alibaba's fintech affiliate, and increased pressure by demanding business restructuring such as establishing a financial holding company.

The FT reported, "Jack Ma has not appeared in public since his critical remarks about Chinese authorities," adding, "This withdrawal is the latest evidence that Jack Ma remains a target of the Chinese government."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.