South China Morning Post
Hong Kong/China state-aligned, English-language
Background
Founded in 1903, the SCMP built a reputation over the 20th century as Hong Kong's paper of record and a relatively independent English-language voice on China and the region. It changed hands several times, including a period under Malaysian businessman Robert Kuok, before Alibaba Group acquired SCMP Group's media assets for about $266 million in 2015-2016, pledging to preserve editorial independence and later removing its paywall. Since the Alibaba acquisition, outlets including the New York Times, Der Spiegel, and the Atlantic have reported that the paper's coverage of Beijing and Hong Kong grew noticeably softer, with critical framing of Chinese government actions becoming rarer. Alibaba co-founder and board member Joe Tsai has publicly said the paper should counter what he calls unfairly negative Western coverage of China, and media scholars have described its top management as effectively aligned with Beijing's interests. The paper still produces substantial original reporting on Hong Kong, mainland China, and Asian business and geopolitics, and remains widely read internationally for China coverage, but it operates within the constraints of Hong Kong's post-2020 National Security Law environment and its ownership's commercial and political ties to mainland China.
Sources
- South China Morning Post - Wikipedia
- Alibaba buys South China Morning Post Group's media business, pledges to uphold editorial independence and remove paywall
- China's crackdown on Jack Ma has come to Hong Kong's SCMP
- Vale, South China Morning Post as Alibaba ushers in media ownership, mainland style - Lowy Institute
Profile compiled 2026-09-24; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.