According to a recent investigative report released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), it not only revealed that China used Interpol to infiltrate various parts of the world and establish a network system to arrest corrupt officials and dissidents outside China, but the report also pointed out that Alibaba's main founder Jack Ma also assisted China in overseas arrests.
This series of reports was prepared for half a year through cross-border cooperation among multiple media outlets. 42 media outlets from various countries, including The Washington Post, The Guardian, Radio Free Asia, and Le Monde, have successively released a series of investigation results.
Reports indicate that H, the ex-husband of Chinese actress Zhao Wei and a major Chinese entrepreneur, spoke by phone with Jack Ma while awaiting an extradition hearing in France for money laundering. In 2021, while awaiting his extradition hearing in France, H received a call from Jack Ma. Ma explained that he had been tasked by Chinese authorities to persuade H to voluntarily return to China from France.
According to court records, Ma Yun said on the phone: "I personally feel that you have no other choice. He is giving you this policy now. If you don't come back now, he will definitely kill you."
In October 2020, Jack Ma publicly criticized China's financial regulators. Ant Group's IPO plans were immediately thwarted, and he himself disappeared from public view for several years. He only gradually returned to the public eye after 2023.
Although Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning stated at the end of last year that "the so-called Chinese overseas police stations do not exist at all," according to Xi Jinping's own speeches during his visits to various countries, he has already mentioned many times the need for "police cooperation" among various countries. There are also many reports that relevant Chinese departments have stationed officials in Chinese embassies to strengthen the pursuit of fugitives and the recovery of assets.
In addition, Chinese authorities use surveillance, hacking, seizure of financial assets, and intimidation of targets’ relatives in China to suppress regime critics abroad.
Despite being under the name of "anti-corruption", the report also clearly pointed out that red notices and Interpol are not only used to arrest corrupt officials, but also overseas political dissidents, persecuted ethnic exiles, and businessmen with political backgrounds such as entrepreneur H.
As of press time, Jack Ma, H, and China's Ministry of Public Security have not responded to this report.
This station previously reported that since 2014, China's "Fox Hunting Operation", which is carried out under the pretext of anti-corruption and cross-border pursuit of fugitives and stolen assets, has expanded from targeting economic crimes to all fugitives and even dissidents.
According to a Xinhua News Agency report in August 2024, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security's "Operation Fox Hunt" expanded to over 120 countries and regions, apprehending over 9,000 fugitive economic crime suspects and recovering nearly 49 billion yuan in stolen assets. This cross-border arrest operation was a key component of Operation Skynet 2022, a joint effort by the Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group and the People's Bank of China's Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Cross-Border Corruption Control.
