Alibaba Group Holding has been in talks to purchase Hong Kong’s Cantonese-language newspaper Ming Pao since July, Australian Financial Review reported, citing an unnamed source with connections to the mainland’s propaganda ministry. News of the talks comes shortly after the e-commerce conglomerate’s purchase of the territory’s English-language daily, South China Morning Post. Ming Pao, owned by Malaysian timber baron Tiong Hiew King and considered generally pro-establishment, has taken a more independent stance on issue like democracy and human rights on the mainland. If the deal goes through it would likely raise further concerns about the undermining of press freedom in Hong Kong.
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