Journalist quits after interview with Jack Ma of Alibaba is edited
A Hong Kong journalist has quit in a row over her interview with Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group.
Jack Ma: Criticism
The journalist, Liu Yi, resigned after claiming that the interview published by her newspaper, the South China Morning Post, was different from the one she wrote.
Before her resignation, she re-edited the online version of her article to "set the record straight." The paper later restored the former piece.
The disputed passage in the interview, published on 13 July, concerned remarks Ma is supposed to have made in support of Beijing's crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters in 1989.
This was the crucial passage , allegedly quoting Ma,
"I made cruel decisions when thousands of Alibaba’s customers were involved in fraud, and when we adjusted Alipay’s structure. As the CEO of a company, you have to do that.
"It’s like Deng Xiaoping, the then top leader, had to make cruel decisions during the June 4 crackdown for the country’s stability," - a reference to Tiananmmen Square.
"I think the Chinese government is terrific. Many foreigners say the government controls the internet. If it is true, China’s internet censorship is very advanced, because China still has 600 million internet users and has three or four of the world’s top 10 internet companies."
Liu Yi issued a statement on Facebook saying: "Ma never intended to make any comments about politics. I solemnly apologise to Mr Ma Yun [Jack Ma's Chinese name] and resign from the South China Morning Post."
Ma denies making the Tiananmen remarks. However, he did describe the Chinese government as "terrific" and downplayed internet censorship. But his comments on Tiananmen Square brought criticism of Ma in Hong Kong.
The Post said in a statement that the reporter had accessed its system and replaced the editor-approved article with an altered version in which Ma's reference to Tiananmen was removed.
Its statement said that the editor-approved version was restored and that Liu Yi had been suspended. She chose to resign on 19 July before an investigation had been completed.
The paper said it stood behind the original published article, in which Ma appeared to endorse Deng Xiaoping in using force to crush the 1989 protests.
Florence Shih, a spokeswoman for Alibaba, said in an email to Reuters: "This is, at best, rookie journalism and, at worst, is malicious."