Hong Kong's last pro-democracy paper sells out final edition

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ZEN SOO

HONG KONG (AP) — The final edition of Hong Kong’s last remaining pro-democracy paper sold out in hours Thursday, as readers scooped up all 1 million copies of the Apple Daily, whose closure was yet another sign of China’s tightening grip on the semi-autonomous city.

Across the densely populated metropolis, people lined up early in the morning to buy the paper, which in recent years has become an increasingly outspoken critic of Chinese and Hong Kong authorities’ efforts to limit the freedoms found here but not in mainland China. The paper was gone from newsstands by 8:30 a.m.

The newspaper said it was forced to cease operations after police froze $2.3 million of its assets, searched its office and arrested five top editors and executives last week, accusing them of foreign collusion to endanger national security.

“This is our last day, and last edition, does this reflect the reality that Hong Kong has started to lose its press freedom and freedom of speech?” an Apple Daily graphic designer, Dickson Ng, asked in comments to The Associated Press. “Why does it have to end up like this?”



People queue up for last issue of Apple Daily at a newspaper booth at a downtown street in Hong Kong, Thursday, June 24, 2021. Across Hong Kong, people lined up early Thursday to buy the last print edition of the last remaining pro-democracy newspaper. ( AP Photo/Vincent Yu)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-europe-newspapers-business-97cf6aec4153c9201ae8cda679ff0e3d

[HUAJIAO]

1. I have a dear friend in HK who is sending me a copy of the last edition.

Very kind of her.

But, I really worry for her.

She has relatives in the UK so does have a place to go if need be, but she loves Hong Kong.

[turbinetree]

2. Again why are companies doing business with this regime....

it is amazing that when you get hired by some of these firms you have to sign paperwork to adhere to the rules of ethics, and these companies don't even think about that when they do business with this authoritarian regime...they violate basic human rights all around, but they will sell a plane to make a buck or move part of there operation over to to make and sell a plane for example...and people wonder why the world is in the shape its in... with narcissus in power....

[alphafemale]

3. I dread what is going to happen to these people

They have only known freedom all their lives.

[dalton99a]

4. You can't trust a word from Beijing

The newspaper said it was forced to cease operations after police froze $2.3 million of its assets, searched its office and arrested five top editors and executives last week, accusing them of foreign collusion to endanger national security.

“This is our last day, and last edition, does this reflect the reality that Hong Kong has started to lose its press freedom and freedom of speech?” an Apple Daily graphic designer, Dickson Ng, asked in comments to The Associated Press. “Why does it have to end up like this?”

The pressure on the paper reflects a broader crackdown on Hong Kong’s civil liberties, ramped up after massive antigovernment protests in 2019 unsettled authorities. In response, they imposed a sweeping national security law — used in the arrests of the newspaper employees — and revamped Hong Kong’s election laws to keep opposition voices out of the legislature.

The result is that dissenting voices have been almost completely silenced in the city long known as an oasis of freedoms on mainland China’s doorstep. The increasing restrictions have come despite China’s promise to protect Hong Kong’s civil liberties for 50 years after the city’s 1997 handover from Britain.

[Dawson Leery]

5. Liberal Democracy is a modern concept.

Throughout most of history, people were ruled by strongmen.