Apple Daily’s death leaves a lasting impression on free printers in Hong Kong

Hong Kongers was in mourning as well as the city’s news center this week as people lined up to buy the latest Apple Daily app.

The anti-democratic newspaper has angered city officials for years. The company was compelled to do so to close officials after freezing his property and caught senior journalists under the auspices of the national security law Beijing set the stage after the anti-democratic protests in 2019.

Citizens have been flocking to buy the latest color – Apple Daily printed 1m copies instead of the usual 150,000 – quietly. “The people of Hong Kong are very sad, and this is the only way I can help,” said Deborah, a 50-year-old teacher who lined up in the rain to buy a copy Thursday morning.

Apple Daily was a powerful symbol of the recent protests that continue to fall under the city. The closure of a Chinese newspaper and website shows how authorities are using the national security law to ban free journalists in Hong Kong, experts say.

A newspaper that challenged the authorities

Apple Daily was founded by Jimmy Lai, a 73-year-old businessman who made his fortune by making clothes and selling them before setting up a newspaper in 1995.

Beijing has pledged independence in Hong Kong for 50 years following the city’s withdrawal from Britain to China in 1997, including the rights of journalists and speakers.

Lai has been one of China’s most vocal critics. When Li Peng, a Chinese leader who strongly supported the assassination of Tiananmen Square in 1989, justified the revolt of students who staged protests, Lai was outraged. Calling him a “turtle egg” in psychology, a Chinese insult similar to calling him another “illegitimate son”, has been a Beijing prophet ever since.

Apple Daily confuses popular gossip with bad news and research. The newspaper was one of a handful of articles published in China that sought to criticize local and regional leaders and their impact on the city’s journalists. “The company has also taken care of many older journalists,” said Ronson Chan, President of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

The court’s records were not without controversy and he was charged with felony criminal mischief, conspiracy and racism. Until the early 2000s, it used the pseudonym “Fat Dragon”, which thwarted the protests against ordinary governors and surveyed the brothel. More recently, he has been accused of racism by spreading out minorities and Chinese nationals in the city.

Apple Daily was popular but newspapers and Lai have faced a firestorm since the 2019 protests, which the company called cheerleading. The books printed large posters that were printed during the protests and threatened the authorities by Carrie Lam, the city’s mayor.

“Supporting Apple Daily became another kind of initiative,” said Rose Luqiu, a journalist at Hong Kong Baptist University. This includes purchases sections in Next Digital, the group of his parents.

It was not just about associations and team building. That is why this led the government to resort to repressive measures, “added Luqiu.

Tim, a 21-year-old student, started reading the newspaper for the protests. “Especially at the show, it was clear that we needed Apple Daily in our lives,” he said. “That’s what set my mind on politics.”

The process of persuading the newspaper, however, is likely to end soon, researchers say.

Lai was judged this year for participating in demonstrations. He is also charged with various offenses, including conspiracy to commit terrorist acts in accordance with national security law and has been arrested. The maximum penalty is imprisonment and many believe they will never be free.

Supervisors of Apple Daily include Ryan Law, the paper’s editor-in-chief, and author Li Ping. Hundreds of paper journalists are unemployed and live in fear of reprisals.

“It’s been an ongoing process of dealing with the media in Hong Kong, which has been on the rise for the past few months and in recent weeks,” said Ian Cheong, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore who is studying embassy. in Asia.

“Apple Daily is displaying a spirit of openness and transparency in media coverage in Hong Kong. . . That’s why its closure stops all this time. ”

Officials will continue to enforce

Apple Daily’s death is seen as a victory for Hong Kong and Beijing officials but has been condemned by Western governments.

Joe Biden, US President, has called for the closure to “intensify Beijing’s repression” and called on the government to fire workers in the newspaper.

Michelle Bachelet, UN Human Rights Commissioner, He said the national security law “directs journalists to take care of themselves”.

Lam, however, criticized Apple Daily for using its role as a media organization as “security”, saying: “We are not fighting against the media or the media, but actions that are thought to endanger national security.”

Beijing was outraged by the editor of Apple Daily, which police said was urging governments to establish a Hong Kong government as well as Chinese officials following the protests. Lai also supported Donald Trump’s strong move to Beijing.

US beaten among many in Hong Kong by Chinese officials, forcing Lam to retain it “Piles of money” in his home as banks are afraid to break these rules by taking him as a customer.

Opposing newspapers were also ruthless. Ming Pao, a Chinese newspaper, criticized Apple Daily for “politically motivated” should not be a social media organization. The front page of the South China Morning Post asked: “Was Apple Daily defending freedom or infringing on national rights?”

Many journalists believe the authorities could continue to seize Apple. Chris Yeung, a senior journalist for CitizenNews, a Hong Kong-based news agency, said the allegations had prompted journalists to complain that reporting or questioning could land them in jail. “Anything that seems to be happening, it’s very worrying,” he said.

In the final hours in the Apple Daily newsroom, journalists rushed to report at the end of the newspaper.

“There were friends who were crying, there were people who were filming their friends, and some were still working hard until the last minute,” said one reporter.

Ingrid Tse, a 25-year-old journalist who recently joined the company, said journalists sat in the office until 6 a.m. Thursday morning, drinking, eating and enjoying themselves.

When the last letter was sent for publication, everyone gathered in the middle of the office and thanked the editors. “Even now I do not agree that it is all over,” he said.