CK Asset Denounces Fabricated Reports of Li Ka-shing's Death as 'Utterly Groundless'
HONG KONG — CK Asset Holdings issued a stern statement on Oct. 15 rejecting viral social-media claims that its senior advisor Li Ka-shing had died, calling the reports 'utterly groundless' and strongly condemning the self-media accounts that fabricated them. Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao, which the posts falsely cited as their source, also clarified that it had never published any such report.
According to Securities Times and Yicai, the rumour originated with mainland self-media posts that wrongly attributed the claim to Ta Kung Pao. Checks found no obituary or announcement from CK Hutchison, CK Asset, the Li Ka Shing Foundation or the family, and no coverage by authoritative outlets.
Li, 98, retired in 2018 and serves as senior advisor to the CK group. A similar fabricated report claiming he was critically ill circulated in February this year and was likewise debunked.
The group said major news should be based on official announcements from CK Hutchison or the Li Ka Shing Foundation. Reports also noted that on the day the rumour spread, shares of an unrelated A-share company whose name contains the characters 'Jiacheng' surged to their daily limit, underscoring how fabricated celebrity news can jolt markets.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：长江集团中心（长实集团总部所在大楼，资料图）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。Photo: Cheung Kong Center in Hong Kong, home to CK Asset's headquarters (file photo). Source: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
