The end of free speech? Hong Kong loses its Apple

The lively, pro-democracy Apple Daily tabloid is the latest victim of the harsh ‘national security’ law imposed on the territory by Beijing

The final issue of Apple Daily is delivered to a newspaper stands
The final issue of Apple Daily is delivered to a newspaper stands on 24 June in Hong Kong
(Image credit: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

The queues began forming soon after midnight last Thursday, said Eryk Bagshaw in The Sydney Morning Herald. Hong Kong’s Apple Daily newspaper had printed a million editions – “ten times what it would normally sell in a day” – but customers were desperate to “get their hands on a copy” as soon as they could; most newsagents sold out before lunch.

Why? Because the next day, this lively, pro-democracy tabloid, which had been at the centre of Hong Kong life for 26 years, was ceasing publication for good, the latest victim of the harsh “national security” law imposed on the territory by Beijing last year.

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