Hong Kong’s most vocal pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, printed its last edition on Thursday after a stormy year in which its tycoon owner and other staff were arrested under a new national security law, and its assets were frozen.
The closure of the popular tabloid, which mixes pro-democracy views with celebrity gossip and investigations of those in power, marks the end of an era for media freedom in the Chinese-ruled city, critics say.
“Thank you to all readers, subscribers, ad clients and Hong Kongers for 26 years of immense love and support. Here we say goodbye, take care of yourselves,” the paper said in an online article.
Hundreds of supporters gathered outside Apple Daily’s building on Wednesday night to show support, sometimes in heavy rain, and waved smartphone lights. Journalists came out onto the balcony and responded with their own phones.
The last front page carried a photograph of a member of staff waving at supporters, with the headline “Hong Kongers bid a painful farewell in the rain”.
Ms Chan, among the five top brass arrested last week by the police in a national security probe, bade farewell to readers and wished for her detained colleagues to be released soon.
One Apple Daily photographer, who asked not to be named but said he joined when the paper first opened in 1995, had spent some of the evening watching and shooting the crowds below.
His eyes were red.
Asked what he would do next, he simply shrugged.
“I just have to stop. No more. Relax.”
Apple Daily, which was published by Next Digital and employed hundreds of journalists, said in its online article that the decision to close was “based on employee safety and manpower considerations”.
Since being raided by police, the newspaper says it has suffered mass resignations and entire departments have had to close.
Last week, the assets of companies linked to the newspaper were frozen and five executives were arrested. On Wednesday, police arrested a columnist on suspicion of conspiring to collude with foreign forces.
Apple Daily and Next Digital management could not be reached to comment further.
In an interview with Reuters, an adviser to Lai said on Monday that the paper would close “in a matter of days”.
The paper’s newsroom was raided by about 200 police last August, when Lai was arrested on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces, and again last week, by 500 police, when the other executives were detained.
