Recently the world is concerned about the situation in Hong Kong once again as the Apple Daily was forced to cease publication. Founded by Lai Chi-ying, Hong Kong’s Apple Daily was published for the last time on June 24, 2021. Compared to the usual circulation of less than 100,000 copies, on the 24th Apple broke the record by issuing one million copies! The 12-page special issue was titled “Farewell, a farewell letter to the people of Hong Kong”.
There were two heart-stopping photos on the news. Hong Kong people supporting freedom of the press crowded outside the Apple Daily building, holding up their cell phones in flashing support, while Apple employees responded by holding up their cell phone flashes inside the building. At that time, people outside the building shouted “Thank you Apple” and Apple employees responded “Thank you readers”.
Hong Kong falls to the Iron Curtain as Apple ceases publication
Let’s first look at the causes and consequences of the Apple Daily’s forced closure. On August 10 last year (2020), Apple’s founder, Lai Chi-ying, was arrested and imprisoned; on June 17 this year, five senior executives of Apple and Next Media, as well as the newspaper’s editorial writer, Yeung Ching-chi (pseudonym Li Ping), were arrested and charged with violating the National Security Law for “conspiracy to endanger national security by colluding with foreign countries or forces outside the country,” but The “evidence” released so far consists of more than 100 reports, commentaries and editorials published by Apple, none of which contain any evidence of substantive “collusion with foreign countries or forces outside the country. Feng was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport as he prepared to depart for the United Kingdom.
Currently, Apple’s assets and bank accounts have been frozen by the Hong Kong government, and the newspaper has been forced to close its doors due to lack of funding and inability to pay salaries.
From the forced closure of Apple, we can see that the Hong Kong government and the Chinese Communist authorities have completely torn off their masks, directly revealing the nature of the totalitarian regime, “I am a rogue and I am afraid of no one”, that is, completely criminalized by speech, as long as the words it does not like to hear, it is a crime! In the future, not to mention the call for foreign countries to face up to the current situation in Hong Kong and sanction the Hong Kong government’s speech, even reports that are both pro and con may be criminalized; it seems that Hong Kong has officially fallen into the iron curtain, and the end of press freedom in the Pearl of the Orient has come.
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are the cornerstones of a democratic society, and it is only natural for Hong Kong people to pursue democracy and freedom, but now Hong Kong has become a society where right and wrong are reversed.
The Chinese Communist Party is bent on abandoning the promise of “one country, two systems
Everyone knows that the real crux of the Hong Kong issue is that the Chinese Communist Party has completely reneged on its promises to Hong Kong and to the world. Its claim that one country, two systems would remain unchanged for 50 years turned out to be a complete lie. Fifty years is now not even half of that time, and it has changed overnight. Once again, this shows the world that the Communist Party is using lies and violence to maintain power.
Yu Maochun, who served as chief China policy adviser to the U.S. State Department under Trump, said the Hong Kong issue reflects the confrontation between the Chinese Communist Party and the entire world. Now the international community has gradually realized that there is a fundamental antagonism between the Chinese Communist Party, an authoritarian regime, and universal values.
At present, it seems that the Chinese Communist Party has the face of a powerful bully when it suppresses Hong Kong people – arresting whoever it wants, shutting down whoever it wants, and shaming the whole world to the end. But it is a tyrannical government, but it is afraid that the people still have hope. The last night, Hong Kong people flocked to line up to buy “Apple Daily”, which means that the hearts of Hong Kong people will not die. As the commentary says, if the “Apple” falls, more apples will grow, and Hong Kong people are still trying to compete with this tyranny.
The Communist Party’s Centennial Celebration has shown its defeat
On the other hand, the tyranny of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has indeed revealed all sorts of signs of its downfall, and the party’s centennial celebration on July 1 was not celebrated in a festive atmosphere, which was described as “bizarre” by the Law Gazette. The atmosphere in Beijing is extremely tense and sanguine, with security escalating and a state of semi-security around Tiananmen Square in China. Since late May, there has been a crackdown on day-rental suites, with police going door-to-door to check and filter tenants.
To the outcry of public opinion, seven major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have notified a complete halt to sending couriers, and postal packages to Beijing face full secondary security checks. Netizens complained that the express delivery into seven cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, was cut off, and a Beijing netizen pointed out that he “ordered the old Henan Dokou roast chicken last night, and was told by the store today to refund it, the 100th anniversary of not getting into Beijing.” This is evidence that the Chinese Communist authorities are so afraid of their own people that they are not even allowed to eat a takeaway. In addition, nine districts in Beijing have banned drones and flying objects such as model airplanes, kites and balloons, and also banned the flying of birds such as pigeons.
Such actions do reveal an extreme fear. The CCP authorities have been suppressing, persecuting, and killing for 100 years, and have incurred numerous blood debts during the 100-year Red Dynasty, and have done too many scandals and defeats, so they are afraid of the people’s retaliation during the party celebration. Cai Xia, a former professor at the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China, said well that the Communist Party celebrates its 100th year, making it look like a big disaster, the wind is cranky, the grass is full of soldiers. The Chinese Communist Party has guns in hand, money in hand, high-tech monitors in hand, said to arrest people, said to seal the number to seal the number. “The company’s main goal is to provide a platform for the public to learn more about the company. Is this celebration of 100 years a happy event or a funeral event?”
Recently, it was also revealed that the “highest-ranking” defector in the history of the Chinese Communist Party had fled to the United States, rumored to be Chinese Vice Minister of State Security Dong Jingwei; Beijing quickly dispelled the rumor, saying that Dong Jingwei had hosted a counter-espionage symposium on June 18. However, the official website of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) rehashed the 1931 “Gu Shunzhang defection” incident, saying that the Gu family was later assassinated and their entire family was killed. It is reasonable to suspect that someone has defected and that the CDC is sending a warning message.
In this regard, Cai Xia said that “the rain is coming” and the situation in China is afraid to get out of control. Because the Chinese Communist Party has never had a democratic debate, the leadership is not democratically elected, the Chinese Communist authorities have no public opinion base at all, and internally they only purge and suppress. At present, the CCP leadership has made a series of wrong decisions, and has frequently raised the issues of “political security” and “regime security”, showing that its party is extremely insecure.
Cai Xia believes that fear has become the special cohesive force of the Communist Party, so that everyone dares not raise objections, “everyone seems to be very consistent, but this fear of forming cohesion, in the party is very fragile, can not withstand external impetus, if the external pressure is relatively large, there will be a defeat like a mountain, an avalanche of effects. “
Conclusion
The same is true of the current actions of the CCP in Hong Kong. Suppressing the freedom of press and freedom of expression and forcing the Apple Daily to cease publication is an attempt to trigger a chilling effect and spread fear in Hong Kong. But this fear creates a cohesive force, just like a pressure cooker, and the people under high pressure have long been filled with all kinds of angry discontent. This huge pressure from the people makes the authoritarian regime very fragile and cannot afford to be tested. No one knows what event will be the last straw that crushes the regime.
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