A Spirited Perfect Ten

[Andrew C]

According to Bloomberg, Chinese authorities are investigating Shanghai Disney for bribery and graft in light of the probe against Ai Baojun. Or should I say Shanghai Igerland?

This is definitely problematic. But where does it say Disney is actually under investigation?

 

[lazyboy97o]

According to Bloomberg, Chinese authorities are investigating Shanghai Disney for bribery and graft in light of the probe against Ai Baojun. Or should I say Shanghai Igerland?

That isn't stated anywhere in the article you quoted.

 

[Cesar R M]

Thing is NOW it's all going to come roaring back, People in high places NEVER learn the coverup is ALWAYS worse than the crime itself. If Iger had left the HuffPo alone the story would have run for awhile and eventually petered out.

Now it will grow legs which will get stronger every day. And the assumption that Bob had Willow spike the story will morph into a truism regardless of the actual facts.

It's interesting that Iger is now on the BoD of the 'new stadium group' - Did he know that this was coming down and it;'s likely to take him with it.

I wonder if we will have a huge Streissand effect.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

This is definitely problematic. But where does it say Disney is actually under investigation?

Deputy Mayor of Shanghai, Ai Baojun, is under investigation for corruption/graft. Among his mayoral responsibilities was the city's tourism division, which controls the Chinese half of Shanghai Disney Resort.

From the article:
"Whether it will be a magic kingdom depends on how shrewdly Shanghai and the Walt Disney Co. build and sell this 5,000-acre playground. China’s economic growth is slowing, and Beijing’s national crackdown on corruption has warned people off of the conspicuous consumption and overbuilding that flourished in the boom years. (It may also depend on the outcome of an investigation China’s anti-corruption agency is making into the activities of Shanghai’s vice mayor, Ai Baojun.)"

 

[Cesar R M]

Deputy Mayor of Shanghai, Ai Baojun, is under investigation for corruption/graft. Among his mayoral responsibilities was the city's tourism division, which controls the Chinese half of Shanghai Disney Resort.

From the article:
"Whether it will be a magic kingdom depends on how shrewdly Shanghai and the Walt Disney Co. build and sell this 5,000-acre playground. China’s economic growth is slowing, and Beijing’s national crackdown on corruption has warned people off of the conspicuous consumption and overbuilding that flourished in the boom years. (It may also depend on the outcome of an investigation China’s anti-corruption agency is making into the activities of Shanghai’s vice mayor, Ai Baojun.)"

If this goes to the States, I wonder if Iger will try to somehow distance himself from the whole debacle.
But after the famous missing 800m, I hardly think it will be possible lol.

 

[Andrew C]

Deputy Mayor of Shanghai, Ai Baojun, is under investigation for corruption/graft. Among his mayoral responsibilities was the city's tourism division, which controls the Chinese half of Shanghai Disney Resort.

From the article:
"Whether it will be a magic kingdom depends on how shrewdly Shanghai and the Walt Disney Co. build and sell this 5,000-acre playground. China’s economic growth is slowing, and Beijing’s national crackdown on corruption has warned people off of the conspicuous consumption and overbuilding that flourished in the boom years. (It may also depend on the outcome of an investigation China’s anti-corruption agency is making into the activities of Shanghai’s vice mayor, Ai Baojun.)"

Ok. I read your initial post as the Walt Disney company itself is under investigation.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Deputy Mayor of Shanghai, Ai Baojun, is under investigation for corruption/graft. Among his mayoral responsibilities was the city's tourism division, which controls the Chinese half of Shanghai Disney Resort.

From the article:
"Whether it will be a magic kingdom depends on how shrewdly Shanghai and the Walt Disney Co. build and sell this 5,000-acre playground. China’s economic growth is slowing, and Beijing’s national crackdown on corruption has warned people off of the conspicuous consumption and overbuilding that flourished in the boom years. (It may also depend on the outcome of an investigation China’s anti-corruption agency is making into the activities of Shanghai’s vice mayor, Ai Baojun.)"

An official being investigated is nowhere near synonymous with a project being under investigation.

 

[flynnibus]

There has been a development on the Shanghai Disneyland graft/corruption front buried in a report published by Reuters earlier today.

Now to unpack this development, it needs to be placed in the context of the last major SDL related corruption story. If you recall this past March, it was reported by Reuters and in the Chinese press that Dai Haibo, the former leader of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and member of the Chinese leadership overseeing Shanghai Disney Resort, was probed by central government authorities for graft which occurred at Shanghai FTZ. [1] While today's piece by Reuters leads with the probe of Mr. Liu from Beijing, Ai Baojun's probe is much more important to us. Mr. Ai is part of the organization which oversees Shanghai Disneyland, among other FTZ projects, and sat on the board of the Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone; the Chinese Government side of the joint venture. It's very likely the Western press will continue to give this story short shrift, but it's becoming clearer something rotten is going on in the bean fields soon to become Shanghai Disneyland.
[1]http://app.scmp.com/scmp/mobile/index.html#/article/1740610/desktop

Or another angle.... Why is the status quo being turned on and why did these guys get put on the outs... It's not like the systems will change... It's about who is In and who is out

 

[BrianLo]

Deputy Mayor of Shanghai, Ai Baojun, is under investigation for corruption/graft. Among his mayoral responsibilities was the city's tourism division, which controls the Chinese half of Shanghai Disney Resort.

So the Shanghai Shendi Group is under investigation... which is not Disney.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

So the Shanghai Shendi Group is under investigation... which is not Disney.

Ai Baojun is under investigation for graft and bribery in his role as Deputy Mayor of Shanghai. One of his key responsibilities as deputy mayor is to oversee tourism and government activities connected to it. The Shanghai tourism department controls the Chinese half of Shanghai Disneyland ergo Shanghai Disney resort is being investigated because it was under his authority as he is/was in charge of the municipal government's tourism department.

 

[Rodan75]

Ai Baojun is under investigation for graft and bribery in his role as Deputy Mayor of Shanghai. One of his key responsibilities as deputy mayor is to oversee tourism and government activities connected to it. The Shanghai tourism department controls the Chinese half of Shanghai Disneyland ergo Shanghai Disney resort is being investigated because it was under his authority as he is/was in charge of the municipal government's tourism department.

You are applying your personal filters to the story. It could just as easily be that TWDC alerted Chinese authorities to illegal behavior, or the investigation will turn up nothing. You've convicted Iger based on an association in a news story and Spirit's allegations.

I don't know if Disney contributed to graft or not, but I know there isn't enough info yet to confirm or deny any thing.

 

[ford91exploder]

I wonder if we will have a huge Streissand effect.

Yes I think that's exactly what will happen.

 

[ford91exploder]

An official being investigated is nowhere near synonymous with a project being under investigation.

In China that's not the case, Basically everything the subject of an investigation touched is tainted, Also in China an 'investigation' means they've already decided that the perpetrator is guilty it's more about deciding on a long term prison sentence or the bill for 7.62x39MM round being sent to the family (yes the family is charged for the instrument of execution).

 

[ford91exploder]

Ai Baojun is under investigation for graft and bribery in his role as Deputy Mayor of Shanghai. One of his key responsibilities as deputy mayor is to oversee tourism and government activities connected to it. The Shanghai tourism department controls the Chinese half of Shanghai Disneyland ergo Shanghai Disney resort is being investigated because it was under his authority as he is/was in charge of the municipal government's tourism department.

I really hope that the 'missing' $800 million went into infrastructure and not payoffs otherwise the CCP is going to seize the assets involved (which includes Disney IP). But I think it's obvious why Iger has spent so much time in china with no publicity photos He's trying to salvage TWDC's investment.

Life could get very interesting if the CCP seizes control of SDL. - Note to self dump remainder of TWDC stock...

 

[the.dreamfinder]

You are applying your personal filters to the story. It could just as easily be that TWDC alerted Chinese authorities to illegal behavior, or the investigation will turn up nothing. You've convicted Iger based on an association in a news story and Spirit's allegations.

I don't know if Disney contributed to graft or not, but I know there isn't enough info yet to confirm or deny any thing.

Ai Baojun is what's considered in Chinese society a "Tiger", a high ranking government official. Much has been made in China in president Xi Jinping's first term of his "Tiger and Flies" anti-corruption campaign; which we have discussed here before(http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/a-spirited-perfect-ten.894588/page-464#post-6632647). The lede of the announcement was two probes of two tigers from the two biggest cities in the Mainland. Both the Reuters report I posted earlier today and the video from Bloomberg @Lee posted point this out. This is not my personal filter, this is the filter which the Central Govenrment sees this issue. Shanghai Disney resort isn't just TWDC's resort, it's the Shanghai government's too and Mr. Ai was in charge of it as part of his job.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I really hope that the 'missing' $800 million went into infrastructure and not payoffs otherwise the CCP is going to seize the assets involved (which includes Disney IP). But I think it's obvious why Iger has spent so much time in china with no publicity photos He's trying to salvage TWDC's investment.

Life could get very interesting if the CCP seizes control of SDL. - Note to self dump remainder of TWDC stock...

He's the one who chose to do this, that's no one's fault but his own. MDE passed on a mainland resort because of the restrictions and risks, now we see why.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

If this goes to the States, I wonder if Iger will try to somehow distance himself from the whole debacle.
But after the famous missing 800m, I hardly think it will be possible lol.

An idea I've heard suggested by a friend was that Disney could play up its innocence and shock that there was bribery going on at SHDR and hope the western media laps it up. However, the risk if they do this is what does TWDC/Bob/Zenia do if Disney did in fact bribe government officials or state owned enterprises to keep the resort on track and it comes to light? Then you look like disingenuous liars. Much harder to spin that.

 

[RandySavage]

Wasn't the whole "Iger forbidden by Chinese Masters to be the face of SDL" narrative debunked by the grand unveiling at the Shanghai Expo last summer?

 

[John]

All I can picture is 74 sitting there in front of his laptop with the Cheshire cat grin reading this stuff.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Wasn't the whole "Iger forbidden by Chinese Masters to be the face of SDL" narrative debunked by the grand unveiling at the Shanghai Expo last summer?

No, that event was controlled and approved by the Chinese authorities. They may be 50/50 partners on paper, but this is China's Disney resort, not Disney's China resort. That's not going to change even if Bob is allowed to be photographed at the resort.