阿里巴巴:收購南華早報不會影響其獨立性

Alibaba's march in the media industry is growing ambitious. On Friday, the Chinese Internet giant announced it is to acquire the media assets of the SCMP Group, including one of the Most influential English language newspapers based in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post (SCMP). The SCMP is a daily newspaper that shares typical Western values and perspectives in media coverage.

阿里巴巴進軍傳媒行業的野心正在不斷增加。上週五（12月11日），中國互聯網巨頭阿里巴巴宣佈收購SCMP集團的媒體資產，其中包括總部在香港的最具影響力的一份英文報紙：南華早報（SCMP）。南華早報是一份日報，它分享典型的西方價值觀念和新聞媒體視角。

The acquisition raised a debate about whether Alibaba, a Chinese mainland enterprise, will jeopardize the independence and objectivity of the newspaper. Alibaba confirmed that the Chinese government had no role in the deal, and Joseph Tsai, Alibaba's executive vice chairman, said the newspaper will continue to run "on principles," and "editors make their judgment on what to publish and not to publish."

這場收購引發了一場關於中國內地企業阿里巴巴，是否將會破壞南華早報的獨立性和客觀性的爭論。阿里巴巴證實，中國政府在這宗收購中並未扮演任何角色，同時，阿里巴巴集團執行副總裁蔡崇信說，我們將持續“根據原則”運營。我們會讓“編輯按照自己的判斷來決定哪些該發佈，哪些不該”。

However, Alibaba also admitted that the acquisition serves an important purpose of improving China's image, considering the fact that China is always observed by Western media through a biased lens. Some of their negative, exaggerated and even groundless reports about China have bred misconceptions, which have impacted Alibaba's interests.

不過，阿里巴巴也承認，考慮到西方媒體對中國的報道一直以來存在偏見的事實，收購也負有提升中國形象的一個重要目標。西方對中國的一些負面、誇張甚至毫無根據的報道，影響了人們的看法，給投資者帶來了誤解，從而影響了阿里巴巴的利益。

From a business perspective, Alibaba's acquisition of the SCMP is no different from Amazon taking over the Washington Post. Through cooperation, Internet companies desire sustainable prosperity by using traditional media's established leverage and channels, while traditional media hope they could survive in its winter and reverse the downfall in a digital era.

從商業角度看，阿里巴巴收購南華早報和亞馬遜接管華盛頓郵報並沒有什麼不同。通過合作，互聯網公司利用傳統媒體建立的槓桿和渠道，以期實現持續的繁榮；而傳統媒體則希望他們能夠在經濟蕭條的寒冬生存下來，並扭轉數字時代的衰落。

Alibaba's advance in the media industry is part of the trend, and it could be anticipated that more Chinese companies will step into this market.

阿里巴巴進軍媒體行業的舉措只是趨勢的一部分，可以預見，將有更多的中國企業進入這個市場。

In the past decades, China has been requested by the Western hemisphere to be more open-minded and engaged in global competition. Now, confronted with more dynamic Chinese companies embracing the world in various dimensions, the West should focus on business-oriented competition, instead of conjuring up politically-driven schemes. Concerns with ulterior motives are disrespectful to the efforts of Chinese companies.

在過去的幾十年裏，中國一直被西方國家要求以更開放的態度，積極參與全球競爭。現在，面對更具活力的中國企業在多維度與國際接軌，西方國家應重點關注商業的競爭，而不是編造出政治謠言來蠱惑人心。別有用心是對中國企業所付諸的努力的冒犯。

As Alibaba said, misunderstandings about China are rife in Western discourse. They can hardly be eliminated overnight. The blossoming of Chinese companies is related to China's multifaceted mode of development, which needs to be illustrated fairly to the outside. In this process, the media helps a lot.

正如阿里巴巴所說，在西方言論中對中國的誤解是普遍存在的，很難在一夜之間消除。中國企業的興旺與中國發展的多層面模式有關，這需要對外界公平地進行闡明。在這個過程中，媒體有很大的幫助。

It is perhaps more productive if the West could look at Alibaba's acquisition and future operation of the SCMP from a constructive angle. Alibaba will not only reinvigorate the newspaper without putting its reputation and survival in peril as it pledged, but also tailor it to be a window to more balanced and complicated portraits of what is happening in China. The rest of the world can benefit from a true understanding of China.

這次收購可能更富有成效，如果西方能夠從建設性的角度看待阿里巴巴的收購，以及未來南方早報的運營。阿里巴巴不僅能夠重振南方早報，如阿里巴巴所許諾的那樣挽救它的聲譽和生存，更能把它量身打造成一個有關中國新聞的更中立，描述更細緻全面的平臺，從而加深世界對中國的真正理解。