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- Chen Shaojie, the CEO of Chinese streaming platform DouYu, has been missing for weeks, reports indicate.
- A state-owned media outlet said Chen is being investigated by the authorities.
- A DouYu spokesperson told CNN that "business operations remain normal."
The CEO of DouYu, a Tencent-backed live-streaming platform, has been uncontactable for weeks, according to reports from several media outlets.
State-owned Cover News, citing unconfirmed reports, first reported on Monday that CEO Chen Shaojie, 39, is being investigated by authorities and has been unreachable for three weeks. Insider has not been able to independently verify the reports.
According to Cover News, Chen's last public appearance was in August, during DouYu's quarterly earnings conference call.
In a story published Tuesday, an individual who was close to Chen told the Financial Times that Chen "was taken away by the public security department for investigation related to the pornographic and gambling content" on DouYu.
Representatives for DouYu did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider. A spokesperson for DouYu told CNN that its "business operations remain normal." The spokesperson added that "any significant news or material activities" would be conveyed in a "timely manner."
The disappearance of business executives has become increasingly common in China.
Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba, disappeared from the public eye in late 2020 after the Chinese government cracked down on his companies, prompting widespread speculation about his whereabouts. He resurfaced in early 2021 on a video clip and has since been seen in various settings.
In February, investment bank China Renaissance said it couldn't contact its CEO and founder Bao Fan.
Later that month, the bank said in a stock exchange filing that Bao was "cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities in the People's Republic of China."
In September, Hui Ka Yan, the chairman of the indebted property developer China Evergrande was detained by the police.
According to a stock exchange filing from September 28, Hui had been "subject to mandatory measures in accordance with the law due to suspicion of illegal crimes."