"The Light Went Out"... The End of Hong Kong's Free Press

Apple Daily Ceases Publication After 26 Years
People Lining Up Since Evening to Buy Final Issue
"A Requiem for the End of Hong Kong Press Freedom"

Hong Kong citizens are lining up in front of newsstands on the 24th to purchase the last issue of Apple Daily. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] "I lined up from 10 p.m. the previous night. I plan to buy about 10 copies to give to my friends as well." In the early hours past midnight on the 24th (local time), a citizen standing at the front of the queue in front of a newsstand in Hong Kong to buy the last edition of Apple Daily said this.

Hong Kong citizens created a spectacle by lining up for hours in front of newsstands across Hong Kong from the previous evening to buy the last edition of Apple Daily, which announced its closure that day, reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP). The pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily ceased publication after 26 years with the edition published in the early hours of that day.

Some newsstands anticipated the surge in demand and increased their order quantities early. A newsstand owner in the Mong Kok area said, "We ordered 8,000 copies, which is more than usual." The newspapers, which usually arrive around 1:30 a.m., began to be sold from 12:55 a.m. that day.

On the evening of the 23rd, reporters at the editorial office of the Apple Daily are applauding after finishing the final edition of the newspaper.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

At the same time, reporters who had finished their final deadline at the Apple Daily editorial office shed tears and exchanged their last farewells. The editorial office was filled with local and foreign media trying to document the end of Apple Daily.

Supporters gathered at the Apple Daily building shouting slogans such as "Apple Daily, keep going! Hong Kong, keep going!" while waving their phones with flashlights on. Journalists and staff responded by waving their phones with flashlights on as well. Some staff came out to the main entrance of the building and handed out the last newspapers to supporters for free.

Their scenes were captured on the front page of Apple Daily’s final edition. The last newspaper, published with a total of 20 pages, was filled up to page 9 with recent crackdowns on Apple Daily by authorities and the regrets expressed by readers.

Apple Daily announced on its website the previous day, "We will stop operations at midnight today," and "the 24th will be the last publication date." This was about an hour after the board of directors of its parent company Next Digital announced, "The newspaper dated Saturday the 26th will be the last at the latest." The management of Apple Daily moved up the closure date by two days due to growing safety concerns for staff, including the additional arrest of a columnist on that day.

A supporter of Bingwa Daily is holding the last newspaper on the 24th. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Apple Daily was founded in June 1995 by Jimmy Lai, the founder of the clothing brand Giordano. Lai started his media business after being shocked by the bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen Square democracy protests in 1989. After Tung Chee-hwa, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong, took office in 2002, Apple Daily began to sharply criticize the Chinese and Hong Kong governments. It gained prominence during the 2014 Umbrella Movement demanding direct election of the Chief Executive and the 2019 protests against the extradition bill.

After the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, Apple Daily became a primary target of the authorities. Lai, who was arrested about a month after the law was enacted in August last year, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for organizing and participating in illegal assemblies. The authorities froze his assets worth 500 million Hong Kong dollars (about 72.7 billion KRW) and company assets of 18 million Hong Kong dollars (about 2.6 billion KRW). Due to such pressure from the authorities, Apple Daily eventually closed, resulting in about 800 people losing their jobs.

The closure of Apple Daily has raised concerns about press freedom in Hong Kong. SCMP titled its article reporting the closure "Lights out." Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported, "Hong Kong’s only pro-democracy newspaper has shut down." Ming Pao stated the previous day, "Apple Daily’s closure is the result of political struggle," and "the authorities made operation impossible by cutting off its funding." Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council strongly criticized, saying, "This unfortunate event marks the end of press, publishing, and media freedom in Hong Kong."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.