The Chinese government wants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) to sell some of its media assets, including the South China Morning Post (SCMP), because of growing concerns about the technology giant’s influence over public opinion in the country, a person familiar with the matter said.
Beijing expressed misgivings about Alibaba’s media holdings at several meetings dating to last year, said the person, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
Government officials are particularly upset about the company’s influence over social media in China and its role in an online scandal involving one of its executives.
Photo: Bloomberg
Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma (馬雲) has been at the center of a government crackdown that began last year, targeting the e-commerce giant and its finance affiliate Ant Group Co (螞蟻集團).
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Beijing is asking Alibaba to shed media properties.
Ma and Alibaba have built up a sprawling portfolio of media assets, spanning BuzzFeed-style online outlets, newspapers, television-production firms, social media and advertising assets.
Alibaba has a major stake in Youku (優酷), one of China’s biggest streaming services, Sina Weibo (微博), and other online and print news firms, including the South China Morning Post, the leading English-language newspaper in Hong Kong.
The discussion about selling the newspaper began last year, the person said.
While no specific buyer has been identified, it is expected to be a Chinese entity.
“Be assured that Alibaba’s commitment to SCMP remains unchanged and continues to support our mission and business goals,” Gary Liu (劉可瑞), the newspaper company’s chief executive officer, told employees in an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News.
Bloomberg News last month reported that Beijing had grown alarmed about Alibaba’s media holdings after a scandal involving Jiang Fan (蔣凡), then the youngest partner at the e-commerce company.
Posts about the scandal began disappearing from social media, including Sina Weibo, drawing the ire of government officials.
China’s Internet watchdog penalized the microblogging Web site for interfering with the spread of opinions.
The scale and speed with which the Web site removed posts rankled government officials, who saw it as crossing a line, a person familiar with the matter said at the time.
Regulators were also shocked at the extent of the company’s media interests after reviewing its holdings and asked it to come up with a plan to substantially curtail the interests, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.
Beijing is concerned that Alibaba could use its media assets as a tool to control public opinion, creating a “vicious circle,” the person said.
Already, the company’s media have played a role in influencing the public’s view about the emerging fintech sector, the person said.
The expansive influence of Alibaba-backed media services is seen as posing serious challenges to the Chinese Communist Party and its propaganda apparatus.
It is not clear whether Alibaba would need to sell all of its media assets, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Any plan that Alibaba comes up with would need approval from China’s senior leadership, it reported.
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