Chinese media, public decry Nvidia boss allegations

BEIJING – Global headlines spotlighting Nvidia chief Jensen Huang’s affair with a woman alleged to be a Chinese spy have sparked outcry in China, where state media has condemned the claims that “stir up confrontation” and the public has expressed concern.The chip giant’s board is probing Huang, who serves as the company’s chief executive, after media reports alleged he had an affair with tech executive Alice Huang.The New York Times reported in October that US intelligence officials found the woman, who was linked to a Singapore-based data centre company called Megaspeed, had been funnelling information to Beijing.The developments have been met with ire in China, where the Foreign Ministry on Nov 9 branded the reports “entirely baseless vilification and smearing”.The state-run Global Times questioned why the story had emerged soon after “the hard-won detente” between Beijing and Washington, following a meeting between the two countries’ presidents in September.“Is someone behind the scenes pushing an agenda and stirring up confrontation?“ a Global Times editorial published on Nov 9 asked.“If this logic of ‘presumed guilt’ is allowed to spread unchecked,” it warned, technology and trade exchanges would be hindered.Alice Huang is no relation to 63-year-old Taiwanese-born Jensen Huang, who unexpectedly acknowledged the affair and apologised to his family and company staff on Nov 8.The Nvidia boss wrote in a message on his company’s website that “I support the investigation and will cooperate fully”.Huang’s affair went viral on Chinese social media, with several related topics trending on Weibo on Nov 9.But on the streets of Beijing, people interviewed by AFP were mostly unaware of Huang’s affair and expressed scepticism at claims that he was linked to a Chinese spy.One man surnamed Ma said that he did not think Huang’s affair was “a big deal”, doubting the incident would affect a potential meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the APEC summit next week.Wen, a 56-year-old retiree, told AFP it was “a real shame” for Huang to have been caught cheating, as the entrepreneur is widely admired in China for his success in an “extremely critical” part of the tech industry. AFP