Jack Ma 'reappears' amid speculations of death or detention, netizens say 'he is back'

Twitter on January 20 launched meme fest after the long-missing Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma reappeared in an online video after 2.5-month absence. While the critics of Jinping’s communist regime had suspected the Alibaba Group’s CEO’s arbitrary detention after he made disparaging statements against Communist-ruled China’s government and business counsellors in favour of free trade, Internet on Wednesday was rendered shocked to watch him make a speech to rural educators.

Ma’s remarks had led to the suspension of the preliminary public providing IPO of Ant Group on November 3 last year, and he was summoned by the PRC’s communist party for condemning Chinese financial regulators publicly. He had alleged that the survival of business empires was made difficult to sustain in the country with a communist outlook, which prompted an antitrust probe against him. 

On Wednesday, as China’s state-run press posted a clip of the e-commerce billionaire addressing teachers in a 50-second video, Twitteratis flooded social media with side-splitting jokes and memes about Ma’s resurfacing. Users jokes about the circumstances under which the tycoon who had vanished from the public view suddenly popped up months later. Many cracked witty one-liners about the 56-year-old’s unexpected return, sharing stills from the Bollywood comedy flicks.

Many speculated that Ma had stayed low key after “regulators suspended Ant’s IPO, tightened finance tech rules, ordered an overhaul of Ant and launched an antitrust probe into Alibaba.” Several others expressed astonishment, having assumed that the mogul was perhaps dead. Ma was instead giving a virtual lecture to at least 100 teachers in southern Hainan, recognizing their remarkable achievements. 

Read: Jack Ma's Whereabouts Still Uncertain; Chinese Billionaire 'laying Low', Claim Reports

Read: Where Is Jack Ma, China's E-commerce Pioneer?

Off the public radar

Ma’s whereabouts became unknown as he went totally off the public radar, sparking concerns about his well being among the media outlets and people worldwide. While Alibaba’s spokesperson had publicly refused to make statements about Ma’s location, Primavera Group CEO and former Chinese Goldman Sachs’ chairman had clarified in the media that Ma was intact well, and physically sound. Ma was increasingly skeptical about the disappearance of a Chinese judge who skipped Africa’s Business Heroes for budding entrepreneurs and his posters were removed from the contest. Ma disappeared shortly after he openly lambasted China’s regulators and authoritarian leader Xi Jinping. Tycoons called Ma’s disappearance as a ‘design’ by the CCP for presenting dissenting views against his government publicly.

Read: Amid Jack Ma's Disappearance Rumours, Look Back At His Journey From Teacher To Billionaire

Read: Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma Missing? Speculation Rife Amid Xi's Crackdown On Alibaba Boss