"Unreachable for Weeks: Another Disappearance of a Chinese Big Tech CEO"

After the Quarterly Earnings Report Last August, Alibaba and Beyond: The 'Big Tech Taming' Still Continues
Disappeared from Sight

Chen Xiaoje, the founder and CEO of Douyu, a Chinese game streaming platform listed on the US Nasdaq market, has been missing for several weeks. Amid this, reports have emerged that he is under investigation by Chinese authorities regarding the platform's operations, signaling a resurgence of China's 'big tech' crackdown.

On the 7th (local time), CNN and the Financial Times cited Chinese state-run Cover News, reporting that Douyu CEO Chen Xiaoje has been missing for nearly three weeks.

Douyu is a streaming platform similar to Amazon's game live streaming platform Twitch. Approximately 50 million users access it monthly. The company went public on NASDAQ in 2019, raising $775 million. It was the most successful Chinese company to enter Wall Street in the United States that year.
[Photo by CNN]

The Financial Times (FT), citing two sources, reported, "CEO Chen was detained by authorities several weeks ago," and confirmed that "the authorities are investigating the distribution of illegal pornographic material and gambling-related content such as cryptocurrency on the Douyu platform."

The last time CEO Chen appeared publicly was during a conference call announcing the quarterly earnings in August. Douyu told Cover News that "contact with CEO Chen has been lost." However, they refrained from providing specific details about his whereabouts. Douyu stated that "business operations are continuing normally."

According to FT, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's internet regulatory agency, dispatched officials to Douyu's offices in May and conducted an intensive investigation for a month.

They found "pornographic and vulgar content" on the Douyu platform and carried out focused corrections and supervision.

Chinese Authorities Launch Corruption Investigations Targeting Businesspeople and High-Ranking Officials

The founder and CEO of Douyu, a Chinese game streaming platform listed on the US Nasdaq market, Chen Xiaoje, has been missing for several weeks. Amid this, reports have emerged that he is under investigation by Chinese authorities regarding the platform's operations, reigniting fears of China's crackdown on big tech companies.
[Photo by Yahoo News]

Chen Xiaoje is not the only businessperson to have recently disappeared in China. On the 4th, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the Communist Party's top disciplinary body, announced it is investigating Zhang Hongli, former vice president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). The CCDI stated that Zhang is suspected of "seriously violating rules and laws."

This phrase is typically used to refer to individuals involved in corruption crimes. Additionally, Xu Jiayin, founder of Evergrande Group?the starting point of China's real estate crisis?and his second son were detained by authorities in September. In February, Bao Fan, chairman of investment bank China Renaissance, was reportedly held by disciplinary authorities on bribery charges.

Regarding this, CNN reported that more than 12 senior executives from major financial institutions have been investigated so far this year.

The 'big tech crackdown,' which began after Alibaba founder Jack Ma criticized government regulations in October 2020, is still tightening its grip on companies.

As China's real estate crisis spreads throughout the economy, the continued crackdown on high-level businesspeople is causing significant difficulties for Chinese companies.

Douyu is a streaming platform similar to Amazon's game live streaming platform 'Twitch.' Approximately 50 million users access it monthly. The company was listed on Nasdaq in 2019, raising $775 million. It was the most successful Chinese company to enter Wall Street that year.

However, as Chinese authorities began regulating the information technology (IT) sector, the company's valuation dropped below $300 million. Tencent, a Chinese e-commerce company holding a 38% stake in Douyu, attempted to merge Huya and Douyu, which were dividing the game streaming market in 2021, but the plan was blocked by authorities.

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