"Alibaba to sack manager accused of rape, according to memo seen by BBC", 9 August 2021

Chinese technology giant Alibaba will sack a manager accused of rape, according to a memo seen by the BBC.

In the letter sent to employees of the firm, chief executive Daniel Zhang said two other bosses who failed to act on the allegation have resigned.

Alibaba is working with police after a female worker said her male boss raped her in a hotel room while she was unconscious after a "drunken night".

Her allegations have been widely shared on Chinese social media.

Mr Zhang said the manager accused of rape had admitted that "there were intimate acts" while the woman was "inebriated".

The letter went on to say: "He will be fired and never be rehired. Whether he has committed rape or indecency that violates the law will be determined by law enforcement."

The memo also highlighted that Alibaba would take responsibility for the woman's wellbeing, saying: "We will do everything we can to take care of her." [...]

The woman alleged that her manager coerced her into travelling to the city of Jinan, which is around 900km (560 miles) from Alibaba's head office in Hangzhou, for a meeting with a client.

She has accused her superiors of ordering her to drink alcohol with co-workers during dinner. [...]

Alibaba said it is "staunchly opposed to forced drinking culture" in its memo to employees. [...]

In reference to this, the memo to employees said: "In the entire incident handling process, the HR function did not pay enough attention and care to our people."

"They were rational but lacked empathy and care. At the same time, an emergency response system was absent, and a severe misjudgement was made," it added. [...]