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Tencent Holdings chairman and chief executive Pony Ma Huateng speaks at the fifth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, in November of 2018. Photo: Reuters
TechTech leaders and founders

‘Health issues’ said to force Tencent's Pony Ma to miss China’s top legislative meeting

  • The Tencent founder is expected to submit in absentia a range of proposals to the National People’s Congress
  • Those include suggestions involving the industrial internet, financial technology and medical services
National People's Congress (NPC)
Coco Feng
Iris Deng
Coco Fengin BeijingandIris Dengin Hong Kong
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Pony Ma Huateng, the billionaire founder of internet giant Tencent Holdings, is not expected to attend China’s annual parliamentary meeting, the National People’s Congress (NPC), owing to an undisclosed health condition, according to local media.
Ma, 48, who has been an NPC delegate since 2013, will miss this year’s event because of “health issues”, according to a report on Monday by Guangzhou-based newspaper Southern Metropolis Daily.

That would mark the second absence for Ma, the chairman and chief executive of Hong Kong-listed Tencent. He did not take part in 2014 because of lumbar spine problems.

Shenzhen-based Tencent, which runs the world’s largest video games business by revenue and China’s biggest social media platform, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tencent posts better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on strong gaming growth

Ma, however, will not be a complete no-show at the meeting, which will kick off this Friday. He plans to submit in absentia seven proposals to China’s top legislative body, including on the industrial internet, financial technology and medical services, according to Tencent’s post on its official WeChat account on Monday.

It said Ma’s proposals take into account “the impact caused by the [coronavirus] pandemic on the country’s livelihood and economy”.

For example, he proposed the development of “smart hospitals”, which will take advantage of the country’s advanced digital infrastructure and help ease the burden for medical staff during a public health crisis like Covid-19.

Ma suggested speeding up the formulation of a national industrial internet strategy, as part of efforts to establish the so-called new infrastructure across the country and digitalisation of industries, according to the Tencent post.

China’s Big Tech firms are turbocharging health care in fight against world’s largest health crisis

“China’s health care industry and people’s needs have reached a new stage,” Ma said in the proposal. That means ensuring the safety of doctors forms part of the foundation for good health care to benefit all people.

As an NPC delegate, Ma has submitted more than 40 proposals that span various fields, from science and technology, education and environmental issues to the development of China’s digital economy and the industrial internet, according to Tencent. Ma was re-elected in 2018 as a delegate to the NPC, in which members typically serve for a term of five years.

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