Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group has taken decisive action following a shocking sexual assault accusation by a female employee against her supervisor, terminating the manager's employment and pledging to implement robust anti-sexual harassment policies. The incident, which unfolded on July 27, came to light after the employee shared an 11-page post on Alibaba’s internal intranet, detailing her harrowing experience.

According to her account, the supervisor allegedly forced her to consume excessive alcohol during a business dinner. This intoxication, she stated, led to a client engaging in inappropriate sexual activities with her. She awoke the following day naked in a hotel room with no recollection of the previous night's events. Hotel surveillance cameras reportedly showed her manager entering her room four times during that night, raising serious concerns about his involvement.

The employee reported the incident to Alibaba's human resources department and her superiors on August 2, upon her return to Hangzhou, where Alibaba's headquarters are located. She requested the manager's immediate termination and time off for herself. Despite an initial agreement, she stated that the company failed to comply with these requests, and her superiors and HR department did not take the matter seriously for five days.

The situation escalated significantly with an internal memo from Alibaba Chief Executive Daniel Zhang. In his statement, Zhang confirmed that the manager, who worked in the grocery delivery unit neighborhood retail, confessed to engaging in "intimate acts" with the employee while she was inebriated. Consequently, the manager has been "fired and will never be re-hired." Zhang emphatically called the incident a "humiliation" for all Alibaba employees and underscored the company's commitment to change, stating, "Change is only possible if everyone takes individual action, but it must start at the top. It starts with me."

Beyond the manager's termination, the incident has prompted further high-level accountability within Alibaba. Li Yonghe, President of Alibaba’s Citywide Retail Business Group, and Xu Kun, the company’s Human Resources Generalist, have both resigned for their inadequate initial response to the employee's report. Alibaba has also announced a company-wide training program focused on employee rights protection, including comprehensive anti-sexual harassment measures, aiming to reflect and rebuild its thinking and actions.

Law enforcement authorities are actively involved in the case. The police in Jinan, the city where the alleged offense occurred, have launched an investigation, gathering evidence and working in cooperation with Alibaba. CEO Daniel Zhang confirmed that the company would defer to law enforcement to determine whether the manager committed rape or any other criminal offense.

The fallout has not been limited to internal corporate restructuring. Alibaba is facing widespread public criticism, or "flak," over its delayed handling of the matter. A significant online protest has emerged on Weibo, China's Twitter-like service, where approximately 6,000 Alibaba employees united to demand an overhaul of "systemic inadequacies and a lack of protection for female employees." This topic alone has garnered more than 800 million views, indicating the immense public and internal pressure on the tech giant. Chinese media and authorities have also been vocal in their criticism, primarily targeting the company's initial sluggish response to such a grave accusation.