Pony Ma’s Online Comment Ignites Discussion in Chinese Social Media

A man cycles past a sign for Tencent, the parent company of Chinese social media giant WeChat, outside the Tencent headquarters in Beijing on Aug. 7, 2020. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

Chinese social media Weibo went wild when Pony Ma, Chinese tech heavyweight billionaire, posted a comment online. China watchers believe the staggered Chinese economy has finally pushed the famous low-profile Tencent Holdings CEO to voice his frustration.

Ma commented, “This is a really vivid description,” quoting a partial statement of an online opinion piece which stated, “A company can go bankrupt, but it cannot lay off employees; a company can go bankrupt, but it cannot work overtime.”

Many Chinese analyzed Ma’s endorsing the post as a bleak sign of the economy under Beijing’s strict zero-COVID policy.

Rare Comment From Ma

On May 20, the former editor-in-chief of the state-run tabloid Global Times Hu Xijin made a post about the economic impact of the national COVID-19 policy.

Following Hu’s post, a blogger responded with an opinion piece, entitled “Apart from Hu Xijin, no one else cares about the economy.”

Ma quoted an opinion piece that said, “This is what certain netizens care about the economy: A company can go bankrupt, but it cannot lay off employees; a company can go bankrupt, but it cannot work overtime. What is the Chinese economy? They don’t know and they don’t care. All they care about is the chips and the so-called hard-core tech. Everything else in life such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation, is all too low and insignificant. But of course, if their meal orders come 10 minutes late, they will curse the delivery guys.”

Along with the quote, Ma wrote, “This is a really vivid description.”

Following his post, some netizens questioned, “Is this really Pony?”

Others responded that it really was posted by him, and the subsequent sharing and reposting flooded the Chinese internet.

Pony Ma is known to be a low-profile Chinese entrepreneur, unlike his outspoken competitor, Jack Ma of Alibaba.

Alibaba’s co-founder Jack Ma (R) applauds with Tencent Holdings’ CEO Pony Ma (L) during a meeting marking the 40th anniversary of China’s “reform and opening up” policy in Beijing on Dec. 18, 2018. Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images

The Quiet One Finally Speaks

Zhang Ming, an influential history professor, responded to the post on Weibo, “Pony Ma spoke on the internet. It’s like a mute actually talks. Something is really bad.”

Finance influencer “ganggutong” commented on May 21, “This pony rarely kicks. But now it’s obviously defending.”

The popular Chinese columnist Rong Jian tweeted, “The cautious pony, once in a dozen years, finally found an excuse to speak his mind. The business leaders are panicking!”

The stagnant Chinese economy along with the regime’s strict pandemic containment policy is hitting the market hard.

Tencent’s shares have halved in value since their peak in January last year, wiping away $440 billion in market value, the Wall Street Journal reported. Tencent reported on May 18 that its profit dropped 23 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, marking a decline for three consecutive quarters.

Xia Song contributed to this report.