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Lost in Translation

Social media frenzy erupted after machine translation errors incorrectly identified James Hu as Hu Xijin.
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A social media frenzy erupted last week after machine translation errors incorrectly identified James Hu, Morgan Stanley’s newly appointed vice chairman for China, as Hu Xijin (胡錫進), the controversial former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, Sing Tao Online reported (星島網). The confusion spread when screenshots began circulating on Chinese social media, with one international affairs expert joking that translation software had “terrified” the real Hu Xijin. In reality, Morgan Stanley had appointed Hu Jiguang (胡霽光), grandson of former Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang (胡耀邦) and an experienced investment banker. His sister, Hu Zhizhi (胡知鷙), currently serves as vice chairwoman at UBS Securities, marking the family’s prominence in international finance.

At left, Morgan Stanley’s James Hu is definitely not Hu Xijin (right), the former editor-in-chief of the Global Times.

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