Jack Ma ran his mouth against the Chinese regulators in a speech on Oct 24, 2020. Then he disappeared, never to be heard from. Speculation ran rampant, for a few days. Then something new happened.

The coverage on Jack Ma’s disappearance is very new. News outlets across the American political spectrum all ran with the same explanation, Jack Ma is laying low.

CNBC, CNN, FOX News.. all nonchalantly declared him to be safe, thankfully! How do they know? Well, sources tell them. This is unusual and it has all the hallmarks of a press release distributed and shoved down media outlets’ throats.

There has been a trend where China asserts its dominance over the US, and while it may not come in military confrontation, it certainly comes in private business engagements. Just today, the NYSE backed off a plan to delist Chinese companies who were non-compliant.

Let’s not forget the whole NBA debacle from late 2019. China has been consistent and harsh in their punishment. China’s emergence as a super-power is marked by always going for the jugular. The passive China is long gone.

Meanwhile, the business world is starting to show concern for Alibaba and what it means.

It’s not clear what happened to Jack Ma or the independence of American media, but it looks to me like they are both hostage to China.