Angry Vendors, Jack Ma and a Chinese Cyberwar

Only a few hundred people were logged on when small businessman Xiaobei joined a group of online chatterers seething over a decision by e-commerce portal Taobao to dramatically hike vendor fees.

It was October 11, a day after a campaign by the Anti-Taobao Union campaign forum opened on yy.com, a Chinese website for live-voice, topical chatting.

Within days, the forum audience had mushroomed with upwards of 60,000 listeners and speakers, mainly small vendors who, like Xiaobei, were vehement about Taobao's surprise decision.