The Wall Street Journal reports: "Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. signed a definitive agreement to buy Hong Kong's biggest local English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, and other media assets, giving the Chinese Internet giant a big voice in Hong Kong's media market...The South China Morning Post is profitable, taking in pages of ads from Hong Kong's luxury-goods sellers and real-estate developers. SCMP Group's annual revenue topped one billion Hong Kong dollars (US$129 million) for three straight years through 2014, with adjusted operating profit of HK$167.7 million last year, according to company filings."
The New York Times reports: "The Beijing government sounded its first-ever air pollution red alert on Monday night, prompting many of the city's 22 million residents to take precautions through Thursday, when strong winds blew the smog away. The emergency measures ended at noon...On no other issue are President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders forced to walk such a fine line, between controlling information that has the potential to undermine their legitimacy and doling it out to increasingly anxious citizens who consider such disclosures essential. And as awareness of their toxic environment grows, people are demanding fundamental solutions, not just periods of high alert that lead to inconveniences like school closings."
Aljazeera America reports: "One of China's richest men, Guo Guangchang, is reported to be missing after last being seen accompanied by police, in a possible sign that an anti-corruption campaign is widening beyond state companies. It is believed that Guangchang, the chairman of the Fosun International conglomerate that owns Club Med and other businesses in Europe and the United States, was last seen in public with officers at an airport in Shanghai. Employees were unable to contact Guo Guangchang after midday Thursday, the magazine Caixin said on its website. China is in the midst of a 3-year-old anti-graft crackdown led by President Xi Jinping that has snared dozens of executives at state-owned companies in oil and other industries. A court cited Guo in August as being linked to a supermarket chain chairman who was jailed for corruption."