Tianjin: Jack Ma, one of China's richest men and the founder of e-commerce giant Aibaba, has come under immense pressure from netizens who criticised him for not donating money for the welfare of the victims of last week's Tianjin blasts that killed at least 114 people.
China's increasingly assertive netizens has turned Jack's official account on Weibo, akin to Twitter, into a battlefield of debating over charity after some other celebrities publicised their donations over the weekend, state-run People's Daily reported.
Over 50,000 comments flooded 50-year-old Jack's official Weibo account, with many questioning him why he hadn't donated money to the victims of the blasts.
Comments includes "As the one of the wealthiest men in China, 100 million yuan (USD 15.6 million) is just a number for you."
Some even threaten that they will stop shopping with Alibaba.
"If you don't donate, I will stop shopping on taobao.Com (an e-commerce platform of Alibaba Group)," a netizen wrote.
The comments followed donations by others including Hollywood star, Jackie Chan who had donated three million yuan.
However, there are also netizens denouncing those who demanded Ma donate, including "Giving is a matter of love, not commandment."
"Charity should not be one-man show," says an Internet user.
Others point out that people have no right to demand others be charitable, and that just because he is a rich man does not mean that he has to donate money towards every tragedy.
PTI
First Published: Monday, August 17, 2015, 23:01