How video of 'mini Jack Ma' changed poor boy's life

A one-minute video of the boy Fan Xiaoqin, or "mini Jack Ma" that internet users called him, attracted public attention earlier this month, and the video also proved a photo published online last year was real, not photoshopped.
Like the Forbes magazine's description of Jack Ma, the nine-year-old boy has "protruding cheekbones, disheveled hair" and "the mischievous dew tooth smiles."
The short video shows Fan's parents are handicapped and his family is poor. The story of the boy who lives at Yanhui village of Yongfeng county in Jiangxi has been covered by media outlets.
Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, said in an internal email on Nov 9 that he would offer financial support for Fan Xiaoqin's study until he graduates from university. The group also confirmed the information.
Huang Jiayi, a local at Yanhui villager, said that her older cousin who returned home from his work place in Anhui province first took a photo of Fan in May 2015 and published it online to attract people's attention.
However, at that time, most online users thought the photo was photoshopped from a real photo of Jack Ma, and they dismissed it as entertainment.Related story:Alibaba's founder to support 'mini Jack Ma' until university graduation

Ma once responded online that he also thought his family member had uploaded his photo and he felt he was looking in the mirror when he saw the photo last year.
Though it is still unclear who shot the video of Fan's family this year, but it attracted people's attention to the family's poor situation.
His father Fan Jiafa, 59, had his left leg amputated after he was bitten by a snake when he was young. His 83-year-old grandma has Alzheimer's and his mother has poliomyelitis. He also has a 13-year-old brother.
The family has few electronic devices at home. The father said that the family usually goes to bed at around 6:30 pm, because that way they would save money by not lighting the only one bulb at night. The family has no TV.
After the popularity of Fan Xiaoqin on the internet, media reporters, kindhearted people and local government officials have visited the family, which has changed the life, Fan Jiafa said.
Fan Xiaoqin and his brother also realized that their life has changed because they now could eat some meat every meal not only the pickled vegetables, cabbage and pepper. There are also milk and bananas, and some new clothes and shoes.
Fan Xiaoqin is a grade one student at the village primary school. He began going to school two years ago, but he dropped out after one week. Last year, he broke his hand and stayed at home for one year.

His teacher said that Fan got zero point at a recent test because he wrote nothing on the paper, and she said the boy was not bright as other students even though he was three years older than most.
His father is worried that the boy could be intellectually challenged like his mother. While not admitting that the boy might have mental health issues, his father said the son might be OK if he was sent to a good primary school in the county town.
Knowing Jack Ma will financially support Fan's education, Fan Jiafa is very happy. In his mind, Jack Ma is a rich and a good man.