The Apple Daily was attacked by pro-communist media and Hong Kong officials after Next Media founder Lai Chi-ying was sentenced to one year in prison for the “8.18 rally” on April 16. In response, Apple Daily responded forcefully with “Let’s stand tall in fallen times”.
In her speech at the opening ceremony of the National Security Education Day on April 15, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said she would “strengthen the promotion, guidance, supervision and management of schools, community groups, media and networks on national security matters” in accordance with the National Security Law of Hong Kong.
On the same day, Hong Kong Police Commissioner Tang Ping-keung said he would “strengthen the regulation of the media”, without naming the Apple Daily, which is owned by Lai Chi-ying. The next day, Hong Kong’s Liaison Office controlled Ta Kung Pao published an article advocating the banning of Apple Daily.
Apple Daily: Let’s stand tall in fallen times
In response to Ta Kung Pao and Deng Bingqiang’s allegations, Apple Daily responded on the 16th: “Let’s stand tall in fallen times.
The editor-in-chief of Apple Daily, Lo Wai-kwong, said on the 15th that a law enforcement chief’s remarks against the media were typical of shirking responsibility. The other side said the media had provoked so-called hatred and division, raising questions about whether more red lines should be drawn to suppress the media more severely in the future.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) issued a statement in the evening of the 15th to condemn Deng Bingqiang smear the media, criticizing him as the head of the law enforcement department, “in the absence of substantive evidence under the big talk,” to the media to make unreasonable allegations, requiring Deng Bingqiang to retract the relevant remarks.
A statement from the Association pointed out that in the anti-sending storm, the police continued to treat frontline journalists with violence, and the evidence was overwhelming, urging the police to keep their promise and stop trampling on and hurting the news industry.
Apple Daily” staff: want to give everyone hope
An anonymous “Apple Daily” Hong Kong news frontline reporter said in an interview with Radio Free Asia on April 16, “Apple Daily” this moment has not yet come to an end, for the time being, still can adhere to the post reporting, attending the Hong Kong government press conference, etc., but see the left media and the police commissioner with sniping, Beijing is expected to have prepared to take action to rectify.
He said that, as ordinary people, journalists will also choose to leave Hong Kong, facing the regime that does not listen to public opinion, difficult to change the policy, of course, discouraged, but still stay, is to give everyone hope, to show that Hong Kong still has a voice, against the unreasonable things.
He said: “Maybe one day, someone because we write some articles today, to record certain unfair events, his day, they can take these articles out again as a proof to disprove certain things, to question some unfair system, so there are more people, readers and the public understand. I think we all just want to do this thing because actually what people write can no longer change the current system, people may want to be historical officers and write something that will be useful in the future time.”
Another anonymous Apple Daily management told Radio Free Asia that the interview has been quite risky, and in the face of criticism from the pro-Beijing camp and senior Hong Kong government officials, he said bluntly that “what is coming will always come”, and now he can only take one step at a time, hoping to persevere until the end.
In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Fu Jinghua, associate professor at the Center for Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Hong Kong, said that according to the overall development, the authorities will take action against the entire media industry in Hong Kong, and Apple Daily, as such an influential media, must be one of the main targets; the authorities are now suppressing the influential media, thus silencing the other media and making it difficult to exercise the fourth power function.
I don’t know what means he will use to suppress it, but he also has other means, including the government has now proposed to legislate on false information,” said Fu Jing Hua. I do not know how the legislation will be done, but it seems that the current vein will give the government a lot of power to decide what is false information, are given him the power to target some of the media that he believes have false information, have the power to do something, in addition to requiring it not to publish, and even do some actions against the newspaper.”
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