Introduction
Hong Kong is in the middle of a political crisis. The 2019 protests over the extradition bill turned into unrest over lack of democracy and police brutality. Apple Daily, a pro-democratic Hong Kong newspaper, had its assets frozen this week by the government. The question is whether Apple Daily is going to be legitimately shut down or is it a continuation of suppressing pro-democratic activities in Hong Kong?
What’s Apple Daily?
Apple Daily is a Hong Kong newspaper that was founded in 1995 by Jimmy Lai. He named it after the forbidden fruit that biblical Adam and Eve were not supposed to eat. It could refer to the nature of Apple Daily’s editorial position. Apple Daily was shown to be very pro-democratic, criticizing the Hong Kong government and supporting protestors, e.g. 2014 students protestors.
Its active social presence contributed to its mainstream pro-activist nature. Additionally, Apple Daily tends to be critical of China, commenting on its cyberattacks and leadership. With such a volatile nature, it is no surprise the Hong Kong government took a closer look at Apple Daily and its activities.
Hong Kong National Security Law
On 30 June 2020, China passed the national security law for Hong Kong. The critics claim that the law was not only passed in uncertain conditions but that the scope is wide and, possibly, dangerous. According to Amnesty International, the wording “endangering national security” in the scope is too broad. The national security law tightens control over scholars, journalists and social media, as well as grants new, extensive powers to investigating authorities. Apple Daily sounds like a treat to this new law.
Apple Daily’s In Danger
Apple Daily had been under scrutiny for a long time. It survived raids, boycotts campaigns and an arrest of Jimmy Lai in 2020. Jimmy Lai was initially arrested for participating in the protests, however, more charges were added under the national security law (“secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces”). Despite the turmoil, Apple Daily stood tall.
However, only this week, the pressure, which was increasing for months, finally reached its tipping point. The police arrested the top editors of Apple Daily (5 executives), froze its assets (about $2.3 million) and raided its newsroom.
The arrests happened on the suspicion of “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” and the newsroom was declared a crime scene. The officials denied the raid being a threat to the freedom of speech as Apple Daily journalists were “different from normal journalists” as they “endangered national security”.
The Future of Apple Daily
Apple Daily confirmed they would keep writing and publishing as usual, however, with its assets frozen, the newspaper will be unable to pay staff members or vendors. Recently, it was confirmed that a meeting about the future of the company would take place this week.
People expressed their support for Daily Apple by queuing to buy their newspaper. The paper typically prints about 80,000 copies but increased that to 500,000 to meet demand. It shows that what was seen as a massive threat to national security by the government is widely supported by Hong Kong citizens. Yet, it remains unclear for how long the newspaper can keep going. The next week will be crucial in showing if Apple Daily will survive.
Conclusion
“An apple a day keeps a doctor away”. However, it remains to be seen whether the popular support will be enough to keep the governmental scrutiny at bay. Hong Kong’s struggles continue and Apple Daily’s newsroom is a battlefield of democracy. In a week time, we should see the results and count the victims.
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