Hong Kong’s Apple Daily to stop publishing online at midnight, printing 1 million copies for its final edition on Thursday
- Shutdown after 26 years follows morning arrest under national security law of lead editorial writer, in the latest police swoop on the tabloid-style newspaper
- ‘We thank our readers for joining us. We have fought a good war,’ paper tells readers as it prepares to publish for the last time
Hong Kong’s embattled Apple Daily will close after 26 years in circulation, printing its final edition on Thursday and immediately stopping online publication following a national security law crackdown on the tabloid-style newspaper.
“Apple Daily is not perfect, but what will Hong Kong be like without us?” the paper said in an open letter to readers as its print run surged to 1 million for its last-ever edition. “We thank our readers for joining us. We have fought a good war.”
The landmark decision to fold by the newspaper’s management came just hours after Hong Kong’s national security police on Wednesday detained its lead editorial writer on suspicion of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.
Yeung Ching-kee, 55, also a senior columnist, was the sixth arrest under the national security law in relation to a series of articles published by the paper allegedly calling for foreign sanctions, following the detention of five top executives last Thursday.
Insiders said Yeung’s arrest prompted a fresh round of resignations, worsening the exodus since last week in which the newspaper lost nearly half of its workforce, that earlier this month had numbered 800.
It also emerged on Wednesday that the landlord of Apple Daily Printing Limited’s Tseung Kwan O headquarters would take back the site, accusing the company of breaching lease conditions but citing legal reasons for refusing to disclose further information.
A statement by the government-backed Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation said it had issued a notice to the printing company and initiated a re-entry process.