Alibaba and Ant co-founder Jack Ma has resurfaced after months out of public view. His appearance at a public event has quashed raging speculation about the plight of the billionaire who is under intense scrutiny of the Chinese authorities over his internet empire. Ma addressed scores of teachers in an online conference on Wednesday, part of an annual event the billionaire hosts to recognize the achievements of rural educators. The top executive had kept out of public view since early November, when Chinese regulators torpedoed Ant's $35 billion IPO and subsequently opened an investigation.