Saturday, April 07, 2007

Not giving up on Alibaba....

From: Wolfgang Leander < wolfgang@oceanicdreams.com>
Date: Apr 7, 2007 12:03 AM
Subject: http://www.sharkwater.com/index.htm
To: porter@alibaba-inc.com, csplinder@alibaba-inc.com

Dear Porter, dear Christina:

You should not miss to see this movie:

http://www.sharkwater.com/index.htm

I am not actually bombarding you with stuff, and personal pleas - but I don't want you to think that I don't care about 'the issue' anymore. I do, and so do countless others.

Obviously, 'the issue' is not Alibaba's role in the international shark fin trade alone. Let's face it: You are not even playing a big part in this disgraceful multi-billion dollar business - hard to quantify, but that is really not the point. The point is that you seem not to bother to work for a company which simply does not to care much about the health of the world to which we belong, you and Mr. Ma himself included.

To pretend that it is none of your business to tell your superior, Mr. Ma, apparently the only individual at Alibaba who could decide to stop brokering shark parts, to abandon this business, is NOT correct knowing what this is all about. And you know perfectly well what is at stake with this whole shark fin stuff.

You could make a small, yet important difference for the sake of Alibaba, and for your own sake. You could convince Mr. Ma that it is not right to participate in the shark fin trade, and you could convince Mr. Ma that the online shark fin trade will be affecting the company's and his personal image. Am I wrong? Or do you think I do not understand how businesses work? Well, I do, and I also know that having moral principles is GOOD business practice. To be, or to choose not to be involved, in the shark fin trade is a question of morality, nothing else.

My question to you is simple: Can you explain to yourselves (I have given up the hope that you will ever write back to me) how well educated people can willfully ignore the catastrophic consequences of shark finning, and find nothing wrong with working for a company that is blatantly disregarding its corporate responsibilities to the world community? Don't you feel that perhaps you shouldn't be working for Alibaba or else that you should try to change things that are within your reach? Convincing Mr. Ma that Alibaba ought to stop offering the shark fin traders a virtual market place IS within your reach.

Best regards,

Wolfgang

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