The death of Apple Daily casts a shadow over the free press in Hong Kong

Hong Kongers were the ones crying and the city kiosks were the funeral home this week, while residents lined up all over the city to buy the final edition of Apple Daily.

The pro-democracy newspaper was irritating to city authorities for decades. The company was forced to do so Close after officials freeze their assets and detained senior journalists under a national security law that Beijing imposed on the territory after pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Residents showed up en masse to buy a copy of the final edition (Apple Daily printed 1,000 copies instead of its normal 150,000) in a quiet act of resistance. “People in Hong Kong feel very sad, and that’s the only support I can give,” said Deborah, a 50-year-old teacher who queued up in the rain to buy a copy Thursday morning.

Apple Daily was a powerful symbol of latent dissent that still raged beneath the surface of the city. Newspaper and website closures in Chinese indicate how authorities are using national security law to stifle Hong Kong’s free media, analysts say.

The newspaper that challenged authority

Apple Daily was founded by Jimmy Lai, a 73 – year – old businessman who made a fortune in clothing and retail manufacturing before launching the newspaper in 1995.

Beijing promised a high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong for 50 years after the city’s transfer of British sovereignty to China in 1997, including freedom of the press and expression.

Lai has long been one of China’s most prominent critics in the city. When Li Peng, the Chinese leader most closely linked to the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, justified the crackdown on student protesters, Lai was outraged. In an opinion piece he called him “a turtle egg,” a Chinese insult similar to calling someone a “son of a bitch,” and he has since been an enemy of Beijing.

Apple Daily mixed celebrity gossip with serious news and research. The newspaper was one of the few publications printed in Chinese soil willing to criticize local and central government leaders and its influence spread to the city media. “The company has also nurtured many senior journalists,” said Ronson Chan, president of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

The tabloid was not without critics and has been accused of sensationalism, sexism and racism. Until the early 2000s, he published a column under the pseudonym “Fat Dragon,” which interspersed criticism of local bureaucrats with reviews of brothels. More recently, he has been accused of racial profiling in his coverage of ethnic minorities and mainland Chinese residents of the city.

Apple Daily was popular, but the newspaper and Lai have faced a firestorm since the 2019 protests, when the company was accused of cheerleaders. The tabloid printed large posters that were agitated during the demonstrations and denied the authorities and Carrie Lam, the city’s chief executive.

“Supporting the Apple Daily became a kind of activism,” said Rose Luqiu, an assistant professor of journalism at Hong Kong Baptist University. This has included the purchase share on Next Digital, his parent group.

“Not only did he report on the social movement, but he also mobilized the movement. This caused the authorities to use tougher repression tactics, “Luqiu added.

Tim, a 21-year-old student, began reading the newspaper because of his coverage of the demonstrations. “Especially during the protests, it became clear that we need Apple Daily in our lives,” he said. “It has driven my political views.”

The newspaper’s activist approaches, however, may have accelerated its demise, analysts say.

Lai was condemned this year for his participation in a protest. He also faces separate charges, including conspiracy to collaborate with foreign forces under national security law and has been jailed. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment and many believe he will never be free again.

Apple Daily executives arrested include Ryan Law, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and an opinion writer who uses the letter name Li Ping. Hundreds of newspaper journalists are unemployed and living in fear of reprisals.

“It has been an ongoing process of greater press restrictions in Hong Kong, which has accelerated in recent months and reached its peak in recent weeks,” said Ian Cheong, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore who studies authoritarianism in Asia.

“Apple Daily is emblematic of the most open and free spirit of the news that was previously associated with Hong Kong. . . Therefore, its closure puts an end to this era. “

Authorities will keep up the pressure

Apple Daily’s death is a victory for the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities, but it has been condemned by Western governments.

U.S. President Joe Biden blamed the closure for “intensifying Beijing’s crackdown” and called on the government to release newspaper staff.

Michelle Bachelet, UN Commissioner for Human Rights, dit the national security law “led journalists to increasingly censor themselves.”

Lam, however, accused Apple Daily of using its status as a media organization as “protective coverage,” saying, “We are not dealing with news or news organizations, but with facts that are suspects that they endanger national security. “

Beijing was especially furious with Apple Daily’s editorials, which police said encouraged governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong government and mainland Chinese officials after the protests. Lai also supported Donald Trump’s approach to Beijing.

The USA slapped sanctions against dozens of Chinese and Hong Kong officials, forcing Lam to stay “Cash piles” at home, the banks feared they would breach the measures to have her as a customer.

Rival newspapers were also unsympathetic. Ming Pao, a Chinese-language newspaper, accused Apple Daily of “political mobilization” unbecoming of a traditional news organization. A front page of the South China Morning Post asked, “Was Apple Daily a defender of freedoms or a desecrator of national sovereignty?”

Many journalists believe the authorities could extend their crackdown beyond Apple. Chris Yeung, a senior journalist at CitizenNews, a Hong Kong news organization, said the allegations had made reporters worried that their reports or interviews could leave them in jail. “Anything that looks like it could happen is very worrying,” he said.

In the last hours in the Apple Daily editorial office, journalists were quick to report on the end of the newspaper.

“There were colleagues crying, there were people taking pictures of each other and some others were still working very hard until the last moment,” one reporter said.

Ingrid Tse, a 25-year-old journalist who has just joined the company, said journalists stayed in the office until 6 a.m. Thursday morning, drinking, eating and committing.

When the last newspaper was sent to print, everyone gathered in the center of the office and congratulated the editors. “Even at this point I still can’t accept that it’s all over,” he said.