Jack Ma's new year address: Billionaire speaks to teachers in China about hardships of 2022

Jack Ma, the co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, weighed in on the hardships that people faced in the year 2022 in a rare public appearance, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Saturday (December 31).

His video appearance comes as China is currently reeling amid a sudden rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. China eased some Covid measures after public outrage over the zero-Covid policy followed by a deadly apartment fire in the country's far west.

In the video seen online, Ma said, "I hope to see you all offline as soon as possible”, a hint that he is in China and may be ready to return to public life again." As per the SCMP report, the video has been verified by his charity foundation.

The Chinese billionaire spoke to 100 teachers from China's rural areas. The live video speech is an annual tradition for his foundation. But this year's is quite intriguing as there have multiple rumours about his whereabouts.

During the address which is part of his Rural Teachers Initiative, the billionaire said, "Teachers have had a difficult year. You had to teach while protecting children."

During his address, Ma told the teachers that he was "moved" by their work and despite the hardships, they are still "cheerful" and "committed". He asked them to "take care of themselves and the kids during this time".

The video didn't reveal his actual location, but it is believed that he is back in China. In November, The Financial Times reported citing sources that Jack Ma was living with his family in Tokyo for almost six months.

The business magnate is more or less not seen in public ever since he criticised the Chinese regulators in 2020. He has been spotted in some countries, like Spain and the Netherlands.

Reports about his location remained in news headlines when in 2020, he accused the state-run banks of having a "pawnshop mentality". After he made the accusations, the companies he founded—Ant and Alibaba—were targeted by authorities, and faced regulatory obstacles.

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