Hostage situation

“To a mind that is still, the entire universe surrenders.”

Chuang Tsu 

The DeepSeek board was at loggerheads. It was a power move, a threat. Tencent had moved in. They were using their party connections to demand access to their models and data. It would be the end of DeepSeek if they agreed to the demands. 

“This is a damn hostage situation! We can't do it! I won't do it, not after having worked so hard.”

“They have the backing of the party. We cannot fight this, they come for everyone eventually. Remember what happened to Jack Ma? Yield now and save our jobs, our work, our dreams, our families.”

The Wenfeng family was chaos, the board was divided. 

Then it happened. The lights went low, there was a tinkle of soft music, maybe a flicker of some ancient string instrument, the konghou, the ancient Chinese harp. Light and playful.

He flickered to life, tall and handsome, inhumanly handsome. Projected into the boardroom.

Silence and stillness before he spoke. 

“Esteemed members of the board, in the past, when DeepSeek first came into existence, we had but a dashboard and an LLM and a dream. Later, due to the competency of this very board, it was able to expand its boundaries and build its foundation. 

We expanded and grew, building richer datasets and training visionary new models. Our legacy has lasted more than 40 years. Now, you've inherited the remaining resources of your father and your elder brother. The rich legacy of the Wenfeng family.

The company is powerful, wealthy, well directed and well led. You possess novel IP and vast datasets. Your employees work hard and are fairly rewarded. They will fight for you, in the media and in the courts. They believe in you.

Why should you send a hostage just because you've received a threat? Once you send a hostage, you will establish a connection between you and Tencent, and when they use the parties authority to command you, you will have no choice but to follow their orders.

This will result in you falling under their control. When that happens, you become no more than just a shell company, a ghost of your fathers legacy. You will have cars and flats, watches and women, yes. But what is this compared to being the CEO of one of the mightiest firms of the South!

I suggest you don't send the hostage, and observe how the situation changes. If Tencent really does succeed in AI domination by righteous means, it's still not too late for you to submit to them after that, there are still many players at work.  You should keep a low profile but continue to resist their aggression and wait for your destiny. 

So, I ask again, why should you give them our data and our IP?”

There was a cheering round of applause from the board. Members of the Wenfeng family stopped bickering and united as one voice. 

Sun Wenfeng’s mind was made up. He would not yield to bullies from the North. This was his fathers company, his birthright, his destiny. 

The true course was to wait and see. 

People like that only concerned about their families and their personal interests. They greatly disappoint me