The South China Morning post has a history of covering political and cultural topics forbidden by censored mainland outlets. Alibaba’s alignment with the Chinese government has sparked concern from media observers over the editorial independence of the newspaper. The SCMP has historically given intense scrutiny to China’s political and human rights situation, but has softened in recent years. The purchase of the South China Morning Post marks Alibaba’s entry into the public political arena. The acquisition covers several other media assets including the Hong Kong editions of Esquire, Elle, Cosmopolitan, The PEAK and Harper’s Bazaar.