Jack Ma has not been seen in public for two months • Hacker News Board

Re: Jack Ma has not been seen in public for two months

#71

Post by the_resistence » Tue, Jan 05, 2021, 5:29 AM UTC

_skel wrote: post #57

mensetmanusman wrote: post #34

It’s hard for me to fathom the mind of an authoritarian. Imagine being so mad at a speech you want to imprison someone. Isn’t this a sign of mental illness? I denigrate myself all the time with humor. This is my strategy to keeping an open mind on self improvement.

This needs to be viewed through the lens of the Communist Party's primary motivation: the persistence of the single-party system. In a single-party system, you can't allow dissent or you will end up with multiple parties, if enough of the dissenters agree with each other. When someone speaks against the government in China, particularly someone with a high profile like Jack Ma, the government is worried that other pe…

Don't even accidentally look for pics of Tiananmen massacre. There are some truly gruesome ones which remind all viewers, fight tyranny in any way, shape or form that one can get away with. History will judge the vile.

Re: Jack Ma has not been seen in public for two months

#72

Post by Wowfunhappy » Tue, Jan 05, 2021, 5:36 AM UTC

guardiangod wrote: post #59

I posted this in another thread- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25636761 The rumor in China is that Jack Ma is part of Jiang Zemin's clique of politicians/sphere of influence. Alibaba's backed by and invested by Jiang's families. Xi has been purging Jiang's people/influence on the Central Government for the last few years to strengthen his ruling. Originally he was going to leave Ma alone as he has proven himse…

I've always thought that was a dumb line. Power can also crumble over time—more quickly than money, I would argue.

Re: Jack Ma has not been seen in public for two months

#73

Post by arpa » Tue, Jan 05, 2021, 6:28 AM UTC

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #72

guardiangod wrote: post #59

I posted this in another thread- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25636761 The rumor in China is that Jack Ma is part of Jiang Zemin's clique of politicians/sphere of influence. Alibaba's backed by and invested by Jiang's families. Xi has been purging Jiang's people/influence on the Central Government for the last few years to strengthen his ruling. Originally he was going to leave Ma alone as he has proven himse…

I've always thought that was a dumb line. Power can also crumble over time—more quickly than money, I would argue.

Ah it's just a false dichotomy. In reality these things go together. Can't have (real fuckoff) power without money; can't have (real fuckoff) money without power. If you don't have one but have another, you'll soon lose it.

Re: Jack Ma has not been seen in public for two months

#74

Post by phonon » Tue, Jan 05, 2021, 10:25 AM UTC

alan-crowe wrote: post #47

Barrin92 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

bigger reason than Alibaba's market control is the fact that the Chinese government is absolutely allergic to unsecured debt. China over the last few years has desperately attempted, and with some sucess, cleaned up parts of its financial sector because the government fears few things more than a financial crisis, it's something they learned when they came out ahead in 2008/2009. relevant read: https://www.nakedcapit…

I remember reading https://marginalrevolution.com/ back around the time of the 2008 financial crisis. Tyler Cowen was emphasizing the futility of trying to regulate the financial system. The banks paid big money to hire the smartest guys; the regulators had to make do with who they could get. The Collateralized Debt Obligation genie was out of the bottle and you couldn't get it back in. One has to wonder how that loo…

Look into China's Ghost Cities/Real Estate Bubble. Like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XopSDJq6w8E

Re: Jack Ma has not been seen in public for two months

#75

Post by birdyrooster » Tue, Jan 05, 2021, 5:55 PM UTC

birdyrooster wrote: post #20

Okay this is not at all likely but wouldn't it be crazy if you know, given China's reputation, it's possible that Jack Ma could just be sitting tight out of public view letting the world assume that China killed him until they capitulate to his demands.

Maybe I am not as crazy as I thought

"After reports speculating about Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s whereabouts, CNBC’s David Faber reported Tuesday that the billionaire is not missing, according to a person familiar with the matter. Instead, Ma has been lying low for the time being, Faber reported."

Re: Jack Ma has not been seen in public for two months

#76

Post by jjeaff » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 3:54 AM UTC

arpa wrote: post #73

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always thought that was a dumb line. Power can also crumble over time—more quickly than money, I would argue.

Ah it's just a false dichotomy. In reality these things go together. Can't have (real fuckoff) power without money; can't have (real fuckoff) money without power. If you don't have one but have another, you'll soon lose it.

I think you can actually wield quite a bit of power without necessarily having a lot of money personally. Harry S Truman was one. There are quite a few senators and congresspeople today that don't have that much wealth to speak of. Ocasio-Cortez comes to mind. Quite a few with military backgrounds. Granted, many do eventually obtain wealth. But some like Biden stayed pretty average for his whole 50 years career in congress. Were it not for his proximity fame for being the VP to the first Black president in history, he likely wouldn't be wealthy today (seeing as the vast majority of his wealth is from a single book deal after leaving office).

Yet these politicians inevitably wield a lot of power. In some cases, more than their wealthy counterparts. AOC has a lot of power just from her twitter account and star power.

Re: Jack Ma has not been seen in public for two months

#77

Post by jjeaff » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 3:56 AM UTC

birdyrooster wrote: post #75

birdyrooster wrote: post #20

Okay this is not at all likely but wouldn't it be crazy if you know, given China's reputation, it's possible that Jack Ma could just be sitting tight out of public view letting the world assume that China killed him until they capitulate to his demands.

Maybe I am not as crazy as I thought "After reports speculating about Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s whereabouts, CNBC’s David Faber reported Tuesday that the billionaire is not missing, according to a person familiar with the matter. Instead, Ma has been lying low for the time being, Faber reported."

Likely lying low either at the demand of the party or for his own self preservation. I doubt he would be trying to really force the party's hand.

Re: Jack Ma has not been seen in public for two months

#78

Post by bjoli » Fri, Jan 08, 2021, 8:37 AM UTC

baybal2 wrote: post #66

bjoli wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you talking about Nazarbayev? (Not sure about the anglification of that name) Is he not still in a position of power? I remember some proclaiming that his resignation was nothing but an act...

Lives in a bunker, and all his former leautenants have free reign. No way to explain all of his personal appointees losing posts one, after another.

I didn't know. Interesting. The news coverage of Kazakhstan is bordering on nothing in my part of the world. Other than covering his resignation, I don't think I have read anything other than the renaming of Astana.