In China, the unexplained absence of top business figures has become a narrative as predictable as it is disturbing. Chеn Shaojiе, CEO of the live-streaming platform DouYu, has joined the ranks of the missing, with state media Cover News reporting his disappearance nearly three weeks ago. Amid the murkiness, DouYu maintains that operations continue as usual, promising to keep stakeholders informed.
This event follows a troubling pattern in China's corporate scene, as the government intensifies its regulatory clampdown on various sectors, particularly finance and technology. DouYu, known as the 'fighting fish' and often likened to Amazon's Twitch, had a successful $775 million Nasdaq debut in 2019. Yet the CEO's sudden vanishing act echoes the fate of several high-profile executives this year.
Just last week, an investigation into Zhang Hongli, a former executive at ICBC, was made public by China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Similarly, Bao Fan, the billionaire chairman of China Renaissance, dropped out of sight in February, only to be revealed later as detained by anti-corruption authorities.
The phenomenon is not limited to financial magnates. Hui Ka Yan, chairman of the troubled Evergrande Group, faced arrest over suspected criminal involvement, as disclosed in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing this past September. Similarly, Zhao Bingxian, the chairman of Wohua Pharmaceutical and dubbed China's Warren Buffett, has been detained, as confirmed by his firm and reported by the BBC.
These events call to mind the high-profile disappearance of Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, who resurfaced after a three-month absence following his public censure of market regulators in late 2020. The repeated vanishings underscore the heightened risks for China's influential corporate leaders amidst a landscape of ever-tightening governmental scrutiny.
The regularity of such incidents has given the international business community pause, as the reliability and stability of corporate governance in China are called into question. As the Chinese government continues its crusade against what it perceives as corporate excess and malfeasance, the message is clear: no one is above scrutiny, and the consequences can be as severe as they are swift.
DouYu's spokesperson has provided assurances regarding the continuity of their business amidst this leadership crisis. Still, Chen's disappearance casts a long shadow, one that extends far beyond DouYu and into the boardrooms of every major Chinese corporation. It is a stark reminder of the precarious balance between corporate ambition and political compliance in a country where the latter increasingly dictates the terms.
As the world watches these corporate dramas unfold, the narratives may be individually unique, but collectively they form a pattern-one that will likely persist as China's regulatory landscape continues to evolve.
