The SCMP has refuted suggestions by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) that it’s been subject to “growing influence by Beijing” since being bought by Alibaba in 2016, following a local newspaper report that described Chinese government officials sitting in on a news meeting at the English-language daily’s Causeway Bay headquarters.
RSF released the statement yesterday expressing concerns over the officials’ visit last Thursday, initially reported by Next Media, whose characterization of the affair, the SCMP has called “critically inaccurate.”
Next Media wrote that the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Tammy Tam, had led three Chinese officials into an editorial layout meeting, where they watched on as observers. The article did not cite any sources.
The SCMP, however, said the three officials from the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong had not been invited to the join the closed-door afternoon editorial conference but were “coincidental observers” of the “open” morning news meeting’s closing minutes.
“The SCMP’s morning news meetings are conducted in the open atrium of the newsroom, a decision made to underscore the company’s value of transparency. All colleagues and any visitors to the office are welcome to observe this meeting,” the statement reads.
“The group initiated the visit as part of a courtesy call to multiple Hong Kong media companies, and were coincidental observers of the morning meeting because it ran over time.”
The SCMP called the report suggesting it’s aligned with Beijing, “a baseless attempt to malign a proudly independent newspaper.”
“We have hosted many foreign dignitaries and officials from around the world, and we intend to maintain an open-door policy for the free exchange of ideas, while remaining steadfast in our editorial independence,” the statement said, adding it has demanded either corrections or a retraction of the “defamatory” accusations.
The visit, however, prompted RSF to release a statement expressing “concern” that officials would be present where news pitches and story treatment would be discussed.
“SCMP, the long-standing Hong Kong English-language newspaper founded in 1903, has been subject to growing influence from Beijing since its acquisition by Chinese conglomerate Alibaba in 2016,” the statement reads.
In the statement, director of the RSF East Asia Office Cédric Alviani called out the paper for putting its journalists in an uncomfortable situation.
“Against the backdrop of growing interferences from Beijing, which poses a threat to press freedom in Hong Kong, it was natural that the journalists would perceive the officials’ presence as a form of intimidation,” said Alviani.
However, in a response to Coconuts HK, the newspaper called RSF’s characterization of the situation “inaccurate” and did it was “unfortunate” the organization had not been in touch for a clarification or comment.
“Our journalists are not intimidated by visitors and we will continue to maintain a transparent and open channel with our readers and news sources. As a proudly independent newspaper, we stand by our mission to uphold the highest standards of editorial independence and credibility,” the statement read.
It’s not, however, the first time the newspaper’s editorial independence has been called into question since its acquisition by Alibaba, owned by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma.
In discussing the 2016 deal, an executive of the online retailer said the move was part of efforts to boost China’s image, wrote the New York Times.
A follow-up story this year by the Times, meanwhile, further explored fears that the storied paper was moving toward propaganda, citing concerns by “more than a dozen” staff that it was intentionally pulling its punches on critical reporting on China.
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