From Billionaire to Zero: Jack Ma's Empire Crumbles – ‘The Biggest Robbery of the 21st Century!’

Shanghai faces consecutive road collapses and depressions just after New Year. Jack Ma cedes control of Ant Group. 6HK stocks plummet to zero. Netizens dub it century's biggest robbery. Controversy over claim of 400 million middle-income people in China. Experts offer six key strategies for risk avoidance to Chinese amid financial risks. Multiple Chinese students deported on U.S. entry as visas cancelled. It's all covered in today's China Truths. Shanghai faces consecutive road collapses and depressions just after New Year. In the first few days of 2024, Shanghai has experienced a series of road collapse and depression incidents. According to the authorities in Shanghai's Minhang District, a road collapse occurred early on January 4, spanning roughly 10 square meters. The affected section has been closed off, and detours have been established. Online images suggest that the collapsed area is a pedestrian path. Furthermore, on January 2, a depression formed on the road surface at a crosswalk on the southern side of the Xinbin Road and Xinhong Road intersection. This depression, approximately one square meter in size, resulted from an inadequately buried pipe underneath the road. The pressure from heavy vehicles caused the concrete slab over the pipe to crack, leading to the depression and loosening of the asphalt layer. These incidents occurred in the core area of the Hongqiao International Central Business District, characterized by continuous pedestrian and vehicle flow. Jack Ma cedes control of Ant Group. Six HK stocks plummet to zero. Netizens dub it century's biggest robbery. Jack Ma, once the richest man in China and the founder of Ant Group, officially relinquished control of Ant Group, bringing his equity in six Hong Kong stocks down to zero all at once. According to the South China Morning Post, data from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 2 indicated that Jack Ma, along with three other Ant Group concert parties, James Hsien Dong, Fang Jiang, and Hu Xiaoming, reduced their equity in six Hong Kong stocks to zero on December 28 of the previous year. These stocks include Zheng'en Online, Fubo Group, Obox Online, Weitian Yintang, Yashui, and Yaobo Technology. Jack Ma previously had control over Ant Group through his shares in Yinbo Investment, which in turn controlled Hangzhou Junhan and Hangzhou Jiunao, together owning more than half of the shares of Ant Group. On the same day, January 2, as previously reported, the People's Bank of China agreed to reclassify Alipay, a subsidiary of Ant Group, as a company without an actual controlling party, signifying Jack Ma's loss of real control over Ant Group. Following the announcement, users on the Chinese social media platform Weibo commented, Jack Ma symbolizes an era, and his departure signifies the end of that era. Others stated, private businesses are not allowed to become too large, they are curtailed once they grow. On the X platform, some users remarked, it seems as though Jack Ma voluntarily gave up control, but in reality, the Chinese Communist Party forced him to hand over Ant Group. Ma had no choice but to comply, or he would risk losing even his personal freedom. This is the true nature of the Communist Party, dot. They also said, the CCP's practice of seizing private businesses was initially part of national theft. The eventual outcome is like a toddler excitedly taking apart a clock and then being unable to reassemble it, eventually kicking the scattered parts under the bed. They described it as Public-Private Partnership 2.0 and the biggest robbery of the 21st century. Jack Ma faced suppression beginning in October 2020 after openly criticizing the financial regulatory departments of the CCP at the Shanghai Bund Financial Summit. This criticism led to a harsh response against him. Since then, he has been under the authorities' pressure, and his founded companies, Alibaba and Ant Group, face severe penalties. They started undergoing de-Jack Ma-ization under the scrutiny of these authorities. Eventually, Jack Ma departed from these companies, which he had dedicated many years to building, and relocated to Japan. Alipay, a part of Ant Group, is the largest payment platform in China and was initially under the control of Ant Financial. In 2020, following the government's suspension of Ant Group's IPO plans, Ant Group was compelled to make significant changes. Alipay was divided, and a portion of its shares were transferred to entities that complied with regulatory demands. Jack Ma, well-versed in the CCP's dynamics, had declared years earlier his willingness to surrender Alipay to the state if needed. According to the Finance and Business World Program of NTD Television, the CCP has longing to take control of Alipay. This desire stems not only from Alipay's vast accumulation of funds, but more crucially from its access to the big data of a billion users, enabling the tracking of all consumer transactions and behaviors. Jack Ma once commented in an interview that Chinese entrepreneurs don't have good outcomes. Ironically, he didn't anticipate that, a few years down the line, this statement would apply to his own situation. CONTROVERSY OVER CLAIM OF 400 MILLION MIDDLE INCOME PEOPLE IN CHINA After the topic, 960 million people in China earn less than 2,000 yuan per month recently trended on Weibo, reports from mainland media on January 4 highlighted that China's middle income group now exceeds 400 million. According to a report from Yizhai on January 4, citing the National Bureau of Statistics of China's 2018 National Time Use Survey report, the middle income bracket is defined as those earning 2,000 to 5,000 yuan per month, approximately 281 to 703 US dollars, the low income group includes those earning less than 2,000 yuan per month, the higher income group earns 5,000 to 10,000 yuan, and the high income group earns over 10,000 yuan per month, approximately 1,406 US dollars. On January 4, Daily Economic News reported that Wang Yiming, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, mentioned that over 400 million people belong to China's middle income bracket, most of whom are near the lower end of this range. They have barely crossed the middle income threshold. This segment is relatively vulnerable and is most directly impacted by external shocks, affecting their income and job security. This situation makes them reluctant to spend. Thus, effectively raising the income of the middle income group is a key focus. The information of those earning nearly 2,000 to 5,000 yuan as middle income sparked a wave of outrage and ridicule among netizens. On January 4, a Weibo user raised doubts about this classification, given that the price of housing in county towns is about 5,000 yuan, about 703 US dollars, per square meter. Buying a 100-square-meter house would cost 500,000 yuan, about 70,274 US dollars. This means one would need to work for eight years without any other expenses just to afford such a house. Additionally, considering the costs of raising a child with a 5,000 yuan income, you can't afford a house, food, or even to have children or deal with illnesses. The person remarked sarcastically about his company, according to this standard, nearly 100% of us are middle to high income, which is impressive. It seems our country is developing incredibly well. Other citizens voiced their frustration, complete nonsense. How can you call it middle income when you can't even afford a plane ticket? This is ridiculous, an average income of over 10,000, but middle income is 3,000? Is this some kind of joke? Some say, don't believe what these experts say, it's nonsense. If they have nothing better to do, they should downsize or even dissolve the institution. Anyone earning below 20,000, about 2,810 US dollars, is poor. It's time to face reality. According to a December 25, 2023, report by the First Financial Daily, prominent Chinese economist Li Xunlei wrote that in countries with populations over 100 million, the Gini coefficient is often above 0.4, suggesting larger populations lead to greater income distribution variance. The 2021 survey data from the Income Distribution Research Institute of Beijing Normal University states about 964 million people in our country earn below 2,000 yuan a month. This news quickly became a hot topic on Weibo, with some even suggesting Li Xunlei's figures were conservative. Shortly after, the article and related reports were removed. Experts offer six key strategies for risk avoidance to Chinese amid financial risks. After enduring the repercussions of the pandemic, collapses in the real estate market, and several other challenges, China's economic condition is progressively worsening. On the elite forum program of NTD television, Ms. Guijun, the chief editor of the Chinese version of the Epoch Times, expressed that China's economy is generally expected to worsen in 2024. She pointed out that in authoritarian systems like China's, where the government wields more power, there is a tendency to postpone addressing issues, effectively piling them up. According to her, if there are no major changes in Chinese society, China's economic problems will only become more serious in 2024. In response, financial and political commentator Mr. Qin Peng, during his appearance on the elite forum program, has delineated six essential strategies for Chinese individuals to manage financial risks effectively. Firstly, Mr. Qin advises against heavy investment in industrial sectors, as most are facing difficulties. He emphasizes that profitability is not just about production, but also about the ability to sell in a market characterized by intense competition and deflation. Secondly, he urges caution in consumer spending, particularly in real estate investments. Where possible, he recommends refraining from property purchases. Thirdly, for those owning extra real estate, Mr. Qin suggests quick sales to maintain a healthy cash flow, cautioning against expectations of a brief dip followed by market stabilization. Fourthly, in terms of investment products, he points out that He also draws attention to the stock market's volatility amidst the economic slump, noting that wise investors are already withdrawing. Fifthly, he advocates for investing in the U.S. dollar, suggesting transferring funds to foreign accounts as a safer option. Sixthly, concerning financial products, Mr. Qin stresses the importance of reducing risk over seeking profit, warning about the hidden dangers in many products linked to local government debts or investment firms. He advises depositing large sums in major, more reliable banks. Furthermore, Mr. Qin predicts a shift in the medium to long-term real exchange rate between the yuan and the dollar, estimating it could be around 1.15 or 1.20, in contrast to the current rate of 1.7 or 1.8. This change, he attributes to the CCP's overprinting of currency, significantly diminishing the yuan's value. Multiple Chinese students deported on U.S. entry as visas cancelled. Recently, several Chinese students entering the United States were deported and had their visas revoked. Mainland media reports from January 4 state that numerous Chinese students recently faced extensive interrogations upon arrival in the United States, with inspections conducted on their personal electronic devices like phones and computers. Some of these students had their visas cancelled and were told they could not enter the U.S. for the next five years. One such student, Ti, a doctoral student at Yale University and an undergraduate from a top Beijing university, returned to the U.S. from China on December 19, 2023. When he arrived at Dulles Airport near Washington, he was questioned for eight hours about his major, whether he received scholarships during his undergraduate studies, if he was funded by the CCP authorities, and his electronic devices were examined. After the interrogation, Ti was informed that his F-1 student visa had been cancelled, barring him from entering the U.S. for five years. Another student, Em, who had been conducting research at the United States National Institute of Health's National Cancer Center since 2022, faced similar scrutiny upon arrival at Dulles Airport on November 22, 2023. His interrogation focused on his university department, supervisor, whether his research was CCP-funded, and if his research project had connections with the CCP authorities, military, or key laboratories. Following the interrogation, U.S. customs officers told him that his F-1 visa had been revoked, a decision made directly by the U.S. In response, Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated in a press conference on January 4 that dozens of Chinese individuals, including students, have been forcibly deported by the U.S. each month in recent months, expressing strong dissatisfaction and opposition from the Chinese side. There have been ongoing concerns from U.S. intelligence agencies that Chinese students and scholars linked to the CCP's military are involved in espionage and intellectual property theft in the U.S., posing a national security risk. In response, the Trump administration issued Executive Order 10043 in May 2020 banning Chinese students and scholars affiliated with the CCP's military and holding F or J visas from entering the U.S. The Biden administration, since taking office, resumed issuing visas to Chinese students in May 2021 but also began inspecting their phones and deporting those deemed problematic. In May of the same year, a Chinese student whose father was a CCP police officer was denied a visa by the U.S. consulate. The U.S. embassy confirmed that visas were no longer issued to spouses and children of active personnel from the CCP's Immigration Bureau, Security Department, and Public Security Department. In August 2021, three Chinese students were deported by U.S. customs at Houston Airport for having military training photos on their phones, leading to suspicions of their being funded by the CCP with a military background. In August 2023, more Chinese students were deported. One was sent back for having social media messages supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine while another was deported for concealing work experience and their visa application. Additionally, in November 2023, a Chinese student in France was arrested and deported for supporting Hamas and being suspected of glorifying terrorism, resulting in a three-year entry ban. Don't forget to leave a comment in the section below to share your opinions on today's topic with us. Make sure to like and subscribe to see more interesting topics from China Truths.