Jack Ma Yun, The Chairman of Alibaba Group[Photo by NamKung Jin-Woong = timeid@ajunews.com]
Alibaba, a fast-growing Chinese e-commerce platform, is to expand its media influence by acquiring South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Alibaba Group’s owner Jack Ma announced on Thursday.
Mr. Ma, China’s richest billionaire, had stated that the Hong Kong’s 112-year-old English-language newspaper will uphold its editorial independence. Alibaba plans to use its digital expertise as leverage to improve and advance the traditional media out to a global level.
Following the acquisition of Hong Kong’s representative media, there are concerns and debates from other media and the public over whether the relatively free media’s editorial ability will be affected by the acquisition. Especially when Mr. Ma is known for his ties with the China’s central leadership.
Before, the SCMP was not subjected to the strict government censorship which was a norm for media in mainland China. The media took hearts of its readers with reports on human rights and political scandals in the mainland.
However, Alibaba Group’s Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai’s comments raised speculation over the debate. "Today when I see mainstream western news organizations cover China, they cover it through a very particular lens." Mr. Tsai said. "We believe things should be presented as they are. Present facts, tell the truth, and that is the principle that we are going to operate on."
The amount of money involved in neither the acquisition process nor its details have not yet been released to the public
아주경제 박세진 기자 = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
