In a blow to media freedom in Hong Kong, pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily announced its closure on Thursday after 26 years of publication. The move comes after an intense crackdown on the newspaper’s daily functioning over allegations that its articles often breached the China-imposed National Security Law (NSL).
The Straits Times reported the Apple Daily management saying that, “given staff members’ safety,” the paper decided “to cease operation immediately after midnight,” making Thursday’s publication the final printed edition. The front page of the last edition featured a blown-up photo of an Apple Daily staff member waving the phone flashlight to hundreds of supporters gathered outside its publisher Next Digital’s building in Tseung Kwan O. The headline stated: “Hong Kongers bid a painful farewell in the rain, ‘we support Apple Daily’.”
The paper printed a million copies on Thursday, more than ten times the usual press run, and distributed them to supporters outside the building. The cheering crowd lit phone flashlights to express solidarity and chanted the Chinese expression “add oil,” used during the mass protests in 2019.
In its parting note, the publisher apologised to its readers for “failing their expectations.” “To our readers, in the past week, you’ve cheered us on and told us to hang in there, saying ‘Hong Kong cannot do without Apple’. Here, I’d like to apologise for missing your expectations. In the days ahead without Apple, I hope you take care and stay safe,” the note mentioned.
The paper’s websites, applications, and social media accounts were also disabled from midnight on Thursday. In response to the shutdown, Hong Kong’s activists scrambled to back up the tabloid’s articles on blockchain platforms, which allows users to record or store information in a way that makes it harder to change or hack. Reuters reported that more than 4,000 newspaper articles were uploaded on the platforms by Thursday.
The paper’s former associate publisher, Chan Pui Man, explained that apart from concerns regarding the safety of its workers, the difficult decision was made due to the dwindling workforce and financial resources since the crackdown on its employees resulted in a wave of resignations over the past few weeks. Chan was among the higher-ups arrested when more than 200 Hong Kong police officers raided the newspaper’s headquarters last week and arrested five senior executives on suspicion of violating the draconian NSL.
Last month, authorities froze the assets of the paper’s owner, Jimmy Lai, along with those of his media company. Around the same time, the media tycoon pleaded guilty to organising and attending an unauthorised assembly on October 1, 2019. Simultaneously, Secretary for Security John Lee also issued notices to freeze all shares of his Next Digital Ltd. media company, along with the local bank accounts of three other companies owned by Lai. Last Thursday, Lee announced that an additional $2.3 million of the newspaper’s assets were being blocked.