Interest in Jack Ma's political affiliation reignited

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The international media has been intrigued this week by the fact that Alibaba founder and executive chairman Jack Ma is a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

State newspaper People's Daily revealed on Monday that the Central Committee of the CPC plans to award 100 people including the founders of leading tech firms Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent for their role in the reform and opening-up process, as the 40th anniversary of the policy is being celebrated this year.

People's Daily added that while a few other business leaders recognized for their contribution to the country's development are "non-partisan,” like Baidu's Robin Li and Tencent's Pony Ma, the 54-year-old Jack Ma is a CPC member.

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The report came after Ma announced plans to step down as Alibaba's executive chairman in September. It attributed the large implementation of mobile payment platforms and helping to develop the social credit system as some of his main achievements.

The latest disclosure has fueled interests in Ma's political affiliation. However, it didn't seem to take many netizens by surprise.

Twitter users @Gokul_Sahni and @mibinred react to late disclosure of Ma's political affiliation with little shock. /Screenshot via Twitter

Weibo user @Olizaifaguo comments that those who are surprised shows not enough understanding of China. /Screenshot via Weibo

Meanwhile, others urged that the businessman's pursuits in education and philanthropy deserves more attention.

Twitter user @supriyozown points out Ma's other significant contribution. /Screenshot via Twitter

It's worth mentioning that Ma was a former English teacher before starting the e-commerce company. He's continued working to improve education in rural China after he founded the Jack Ma Foundation in 2014.

On Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, Ma's social media handle is a “spokesman for village teachers - Jack Ma.” Within Alibaba, he is also known and referred to as “teacher Ma,” according to Chinese media.

It's not the first time the Chinese billionaire's political affiliation was made public, although it's not yet clear when Ma had joined the CPC.

Twitter user @peggyohudson comments that it's not news Ma is an official CPC member. /Screenshot via Twitter

Chinese business media Huxiu reported in 2015 that Ma's Party affiliation has been in the public domain when he was elected chairman of the chamber of commerce in his hometown, east China's Zhejiang Province.

It added that 6,051 Alibaba employees are affiliated with the CPC by 2017.

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