Jack Ma is shackled, it has been about 10 months that the Alibaba founder is not free to speak in public and has only appeared online a few times. Actually in Alibaba, there is another frontman who is also a big role, Joe Tsai. But why does he seem untouchable?
Joe Tsai is co-founder of Alibaba with Jack Ma, now Executive Vice Chairman. He is one of the richest people in the world, owns the NBA basketball club Brooklyn Nets and recently bought a $157 million apartment in New York.
Joe Tsai is indeed more low profile than Jack Ma and doesn't talk much. Maybe that's one of the reasons he was not targeted by the Chinese government. As is well known, Jack Ma himself was limited in his space for criticizing the Chinese government's financial system.
"In China, you get shackled for being a bigger celebrity than Xi Jinping. Well, Joe Tsai knows that and Jack Ma doesn't," says Peter Navarro, author of Death By China: Confronting the Dragon.
Joe Tsai is Taiwanese born and educated in the United States. Now he's in business quite often and is in the United States, maybe just in case.
"Tsai is lowering her risk in China by buying Nets and the luxury apartment. Xi is eyeing Chinese technology companies and no one knows what will happen in the future," said Gordon Chang, author of The Coming Collapse of China.
Tsai herself admitted recently that she regularly communicated with Jack Ma. "He's avoiding the spotlight at the moment, I talk to him every day. He's actually fine, really good. He paints as a hobby, his painting is pretty good," said Tsai.
Tsai also stated that Jack Ma was only human and did not hold very much power. "The idea that Jack Ma has so much power I don't think is quite true. He's just like me and you, he's a normal individual," Tsai continued.