The issue that Jack Ma was arrested by the police made Alibaba's stock price plummet, so its valuation was cut to around USD 26 billion. Jack Ma himself did not comment on this issue.
Initially, Chinese state media reported that a person with the surname Ma was being investigated by the police for allegedly endangering national security. Many suspect that person is Jack Ma.
Not only in the news, social media is also busy with these rumors. On the well-known Chinese social media, Weibo, the hashtag regarding the arrest of Jack Ma had become a top trending.
The Global Times, which is also controlled by the Chinese government, later clarified that the person arrested was not Jack Ma. Character names are different, date of birth and profession are different.
But in the midst of all the commotion, Jack Ma was still silent. He did not comment anything to calm investors or residents. Indeed, since criticizing China's financial system in 2020. You could say he has never spoken in public again.
Towards the end of last year, he traveled abroad, a sign that he was a free man. However, there is still an assumption that part of him disappeared because of Jack Ma, who used to be known for being outspoken.
"All Jack Ma has is silence, which is a special way to exist," wrote a columnist Chian on WeChat, questioning why Jack Ma didn't also speak.
"This kind of silence from the figure of Jack Ma is significant. For a public figure, his speech is a sign of his existence. When someone is no longer talking, even though he is still alive, still doing various things, still a part of him has disappeared," he wrote like quoted us from CNN.