Chen, 39, has vanished from sight for weeks and could neither be contacted nor located by his colleagues, according to a report posted on Monday on Cover News, the digital platform of Chengdu-based West China City Daily.
When someone becomes incommunicado in mainland China, it typically means that the person has either been taken away by authorities for an inquiry or “to assist in an investigation”. In Chen’s case, no Chinese authority has provided any information about his disappearance.
In an emailed statement to the Post on Monday, Nasdaq-listed DouYu said its operations remain normal, but did not comment on its missing chief executive. Chen’s last public appearance was in August for DouYu’s second-quarter results conference call.
Douyu International Holdings founder and chief executive Chen Shaojie, third from left, poses for pictures next to Chinese video gaming live streamer Liu Mou in New York City, outside the Nasdaq stock exchange, during the company’s initial public offering on July 17, 2019. Photo: Shutterstock
Chen’s unexplained situation could trigger flashbacks on the sudden disappearance of China Renaissance Holdings chairman Bao Fan earlier this year, which grabbed headlines and fanned speculation about the reasons why he went missing.
Chen’s disappearance comes several months after China’s internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), launched a rare on-site inspection of DouYu’s local arm in central Hubei province to address “serious” problems related to the platform, including pornography and other vulgar content.
CAC did not release information about the results of the inspection or subsequent action as part of rectification measures.
China starts rare on-site inspection of Tencent-backed, US-listed Douyu
Publishing pornography online is a criminal offence in mainland China.
Wang Xin, one of the pioneers of China’s online video-streaming market, was sentenced to a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence and fined 1 million yuan in 2016 by the Beijing Haidian District People’s Court, which found him guilty of “distributing obscene materials for personal gain” as his online business provided easy access to pornography and various pirated content. He was released in 2018.
Launched in 2016, DouYu operates its platform on both personal computers and mobile apps, providing users access to immersive and interactive games – including Tencent’s Honour of Kings – and entertainment live streaming, a wide array of video and graphic content, as well as opportunities to participate in community events and discussions.
Shares of Douyu closed at US$0.94 on November 3. In October, DouYu received a written notification from the Nasdaq’s Listing Qualifications Department, which indicated that the closing bid price of the company’s American depositary shares was below the minimum bid price of US$1 for the past 30 consecutive business days.
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