Hong Kong Journalists Association slams ex-chief executive Leung Chun-ying for putting pressure on Apple Daily advertisers
- Association says former city chief ‘was suggesting the public should stop buying products from those advertisers’
- In turn, Leung blasts columnist Lee Yee for exceeding ‘the fundamental ethical bottom line’
The Hong Kong Journalists Association has expressed “deep concern” about a former city leader’s public spat with companies that advertise in a local Chinese newspaper.
The association spoke out on Friday after Leung Chun-ying, a former Hong Kong chief executive, used his Facebook page for nearly a week to “bring unnecessary distress” to companies that had placed advertisements in the Apple Daily .
According to the statement, Leung “was suggesting the public should stop buying products from those advertisers as a way to exert pressure on them”.
Leung also used the social media network to accuse the newspaper’s columnist Lee Yee of insulting Peter Wong Man-kong, a veteran Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress who died this month, and victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Leung wrote that Lee’s comments in his articles had “exceeded the fundamental ethical bottom line”, and that he hoped to “seek justice” for the deceased.
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On his Facebook page, Leung uploaded images of advertisements that clearly showed the names of the companies that advertised in the Apple Daily. They included a health supplements company, a wine retailer and a jeweller.
“Lee is sustained by Apple Daily. Apple Daily is sustained by advertisers, and advertisers are sustained by customers,” Leung posted on the website.
The journalist group’s statement denounced Leung’s actions as “undesirable”.
“This not only created an impression that he was trying to influence commercial decisions, but also setting up a bad example and bringing unnecessary distress to advertisers,” the association’s statement read.
“The public of Hong Kong have the right to freely choose their media. Advertisers could also make their own judgment and choose which media to place their advertisements. Advertisers’ decisions are business issues and should not be disrupted.”
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But, in response questions from the Post, Leung said “consumers are perfectly entitled to be informed of the position that suppliers take on moral matters”.
He continued: “In this instance, advertisers should let their readers know if by placing advertisements with Apple Daily, they agree with [Lee’s] views.”
He said boycotting companies was not uncommon in free societies, and had nothing to do with freedom of expression or freedom of the press.
Ryan Law Wai-kwong, the Apple Daily’s editor-in-chief, said the pressure on the newspaper’s advertising business was nothing new.
“We have firmly guarded freedom of the press and freedom of speech, and also believe in the choices of consumers and advertisers,” Law said.
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And Royce Yuen Man-chun, former chairman of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong, said advertisers usually do not pay much attention to politics when choosing a media outlet for advertising.
“They usually look for the media outlets that could help them achieve commercial benefits, such as strengthening their brand and building networks with their targeted customers,” Yuen said.
He said comments from a public figure would not have much affect on the advertising strategies of companies.
