The Chinese Communist Party's propaganda boss, Liu Qibao, has extolled the success of Alibaba, the giant Internet company, as the kind of uplifting story that offsets the country's reputation abroad as corrupt and authoritarian. "We have many iconic brands and archetypal individuals with many stories that people love to hear," Liu told a conference of officials in January. Alibaba and similar success stories, he said, should be seen as "shining calling cards for the image of contemporary China." The Alibaba Group, and party propaganda overseers in Beijing, are ...