This article is about the Hong Kong version of the newspaper. For the Taiwanese version of the newspaper, seeApple Daily (Taiwan). For the news aggregator service, seeApple News.
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Apple Daily (Chinese:蘋果日報;Jyutping:ping4 gwo2 jat6 bou3) was a Chinese-languagenewspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021, with an English-language online edition launched in 2020.[4][5] Founded byJimmy Lai and part of Next Media,Apple Daily was known for introducing tabloid journalism to Hong Kong and being the city's only mass-circulation newspaper with an editorial position that has been variously described as pro-democracy,[6] anti-government,[7] or anti-China.[8] In a survey by theChinese University of Hong Kong,Apple Daily was the third most trusted paid newspaper in 2019.[9] In a 2021Reuters Institute poll, it ranked fourth offline and second online among the most-used news sources in Hong Kong.[10]
Apple Daily's editorial position made it a subject of advertising boycotts and political pressure. After theHong Kong national security law was enacted, police raided its headquarters on 10 August 2020.[11] On 17 June 2021, Hong Kong authorities froze the assets of Lai and his company,[12][13] which was described as an attack onpress freedom[14][15][16] and thus forced the paper to cease operations.[17] The final issue was published on 24 June, with over one million copies being printed (up from the usual 80,000).[18][19] The newspaper'sYouTube channels were shut down at midnight on the same day.
Apple Daily was founded on 20 June 1995 by garment businessmanJimmy Lai.[20] After the success ofNext Magazine, another publication owned by Lai, he launchedApple Daily with an initial capital of HK$700 thousand ($89,750).[21] Lai, aCatholic, namedApple Daily after theforbidden fruit, which he said ifAdam and Eve did not eat, there would be no evil and no news.[22]
The newspaper launched against a poor economy and a competitive Chinese-language newspaper market. Political uncertainties from Lai's criticisms of the Chinese government also made media analysts pessimistic about the future ofApple.[23]: 487–488 Its launch was teased by television advertisements where Lai was portrayed with an apple on his head, which would have been a shooting target for its competitors.[23]: 488 In the first month of publication, the newspaper gave outcoupons which effectively reduced the cover price to HK$2 ($0.25), despite a standardised retail price of HK$5 per issue set by the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong. The price was restored to $5 after a month, but the newspaper switched to promotion with T-shirts and coloured posters.[23]: 488 The campaign boostedApple Daily to 200,000 copies on its first day, to become the newspaper with the second highest circulation in Hong Kong.[23]: 488
Aprice war ensued between popular newspapers in response toApple Daily's entry into the market.Oriental Daily dropped its price to $2 from $5 per issue in December 1995. Other newspapers, such asSing Pao andTin Tin Daily followed suit.[23]: 490 Apple Daily reduced its retail price to $4 one day afterOriental Daily announced a 10 per cent drop in its circulation.[23]: 490 As a result, a number of newspapers collapsed:TV Daily ceased operations on the first day of the price war,Hong Kong United Daily,China Times magazine, and English newspaperEastern Express, a sister newspaper ofOriental Daily, collapsed soon afterwards.[23]: 490
In 2003, Lai founded a sister publication of the same name in Taiwan (seeApple Daily (Taiwan)).
In March 2015, Chan Pui-man became the first female chief editor of the journal, replacing Ip Yut-kin.[24] In 2019,Apple Daily was an award winner of theHong Kong Human Rights Press Awards for their reporting onLiu Xia, the wife of Chinese human rights activistLiu Xiaobo.[25] In 2020,Apple Daily launched the English edition of its digital newspaper.[26][27] According to the most recent filings prior to its closure, it had aprint circulation of over 86,000, and its website had approximately 9.6 million monthlyunique visitors in Hong Kong.[28]
The paper became the target of the Hong Kong authorities after its very strong and vocal support for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.[29][30] Jimmy Lai was arrested in December 2020 and sentenced to jail in April 2021 relating to the2019–2020 protests.[31] The offices of the paper were raided in 2020, its accounts frozen and five people including its editor Ryan Law and CEO Cheung Kim-hung were arrested in 2021.[32][33] The paper announced its closure on 23 June 2021.[30][34]
Apple Daily was prominently featured in the 2022 filmThe Hong Konger produced by American right-wing think tankActon Institute.[35] The film had a positive reception among its conservative base, and showcased the final days ofApple Daily's operations before being shut down due to the Hong Kong national security law.[36][37][38]
The newspaper was modelled afterUSA Today, with printing in full colour and concise writing.[21] It also extensively usedwritten Cantonese,[39] when most Hong Kong newspapers usedwritten vernacular Chinese,[40] and a focus on reporting crime,celebrity news, eroticism, gambling, and drug use.[41] It carried at least three pages of entertainment news at the beginning but this was increased to eight pages by 2000.[42]: 64
Apple Daily is described to have introducedtabloid journalism to Hong Kong.[43] The focus on large colourful graphics and moresensationalist stories, such as celebrity scandals, traffic accidents and deaths, quickly madeApple Daily Hong Kong's second most popular newspaper.[44] This type of journalism has also been replicated by other newspapers in Hong Kong.[44]
Apple Daily attracted public criticism in 1998 for a report about a woman who jumped off a building after pushing her children out the window. The woman's husband was widely reported to have little remorse for the deaths of his wife and children.Apple Daily published a photo of the man with two prostitutes soon after the deaths. It was then revealed that the newspaper had paid the man to pose for the photograph, for whichApple Daily issued an apology after a public outcry.[44] In the same year,Apple Daily ran a front-page article claiming that a lawyer absconded with more thanHK$2 million of clients' money for her law firm.Apple Daily was ordered by a court to pay the lawyer more thanHK$3.6 million in damages for defamation.[45] In 2000, anApple Daily reporter was sentenced to 10 months in jail for bribing police officers for information on criminal cases.[46]
Journalism scholar Paul Lee said the establishment ofApple Daily has changed the Hong Kong newspaper ecosystem by transforming broadsheet newspapers into tabloids.[47] Lee said newspapers with a high circulation, such asApple Daily,The Sun andOriental Daily, are known for their tabloid journalism as well as making mainstream reporting (seemiddle-market newspaper).[47]Apple Daily did not join the self-regulation panel of theNewspaper Society of Hong Kong.[47]
Apple Daily was also known for its coverage of breaking news and current affairs in Hong Kong[48] and China.[4] The newspaper had exclusive reports on political scandals, including member of theLegislative CouncilCheng Kai-nam not reportingconflict of interest in 2000,[49] and former Financial SecretaryAntony Leung for avoiding tax when purchasing a car.
Apple Daily favoured the Hong Kongpro-democracy camp.[50]: 205–206 Its criticism of the Hong Kong government has been described as a marketing strategy.[51] According to Fung (2007), the newspaper is also said to have sensationalised politics and produced public dissent.[52]: 168 In 2003,Apple Daily was critical of thesecond Tung Chee-hwa administration and encouraging readers to participate inpro-democracy demonstrations with its front-page headline.[53] It launched a social media campaign in support of students in the2014 Hong Kong protests[54]: 58 and its social media presence was considered a mainstream pro-activist community.[55]
Apple Daily was also known for xenophobia against tourists and migrants from mainland China. In 2012, it published an advertisement that portrayed mainland Chinese mothers who travelled to Hong Kong to give birth as locusts. The advertisement, paid for by users ofHKGolden, popularised the use of locust to describe mainland Chinese in Facebook groups andflash mobs in areas popular with mainland tourists.[56]: 200–201
The editorial position against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments has resulted in advertising boycotts. In 2003, several majorproperty developers in Hong Kong ended their advertisements in the newspaper. According to Mark Simon, an executive ofNext Digital,HSBC,Hang Seng andStandard Chartered stopped advertising in the newspaper in 2013 due to pressure from the Chinese government'sLiaison Office. However, the Liaison Office denied it had contacted the banks,[57] and the banks said they pulled advertising for commercial reasons.[58][59]
Apple Daily also said Chinese-sponsored hackers have attacked it almost every week.[60]FireEye said in 2014 thatdenial-of-service attacks onApple Daily were professionalcyberattacks that may have been coordinated by the Chinese government.[60]
Support for Donald Trump and misinformation against Hunter Biden
In September and October 2020, the newspaper published a factually inaccurate 64-page report produced by Typhoon Investigations alleging thatHunter Biden was connected with theChinese Communist Party, which was later cited by far-right influencers such asSteve Bannon andGuo Wengui.[63][64][65]NBC News reported that the Typhoon Investigations was linked to a fake author and intelligence firm. The original poster of the dossier, Christopher Balding, admitted that he wrote parts of the document and later stated that the dossier had been commissioned byApple Daily.[66] Lai later said that he was not connected to the dossier but said his senior executive, Mark Simon, had worked with the project.[67] Simon resigned following the NBC News report and apologised for having "allowed damage to Jimmy on a matter he was completely in the dark on".[68]
In October 2024,president-electDonald Trump (also known alongside Lai for anti-Chinese xenophobia), during an interview with a host who said that Lai was "very important to America's Catholics and the world's Catholics" and asked whether Trump would speak toCCP general secretaryXi Jinping about "getting Jimmy Lai out and out of the country," replied "100 per cent yes."[69]
The Hong Kong offices ofApple Daily were raided by over 200 national security officers on 10 August 2020, following the arrest of Lai the previous day for violations of the recently implementednational security law.[70][71][72] Lai's two sons, four senior executives of Next Digital and threesocial activists, were also arrested on the same day.[72][73][74] The arrests, coming amid Beijing's ongoing crackdown against manypro-democracy figures in Hong Kong, drew condemnation from international governments and human rights groups.[75][76] Lai and other arrestees reportedly faced charges of "foreign collusion", which included advocating forforeign sanctions, based on the broad definitions of the national security law.[77][78] Earlier in the week, the United States had placed sanctions on 11 high-profile Hong Kong officials involved in the city's democratic suppression.[72][79][80]
The police raid lasted nine hours, as the officers rifled through the business property and carted off 25 boxes of documents.[81][82] The policesearch warrant did not disclose what they were looking for in the headquarters.[83] The police also brought Lai into the office for two and a half hours andparaded him through the newsroom in handcuffs,[84][85] an act possibly aimed at humiliating Lai and to silence the press.[86][87]
The raid waslive streamed byApple reporters.[72][88][89] The streaming footage included a tense moment when the policed shoved an editor for questioning the boundaries of the search.[70] The police ordered for the live broadcast to be stopped, but the staff member continued filming the raid, arguing press freedom.[90]
Next Digital released a statement condemning the police raid and declared, "Hong Kong's press freedom is now hanging by a thread, but our staff will remain fully committed to our duty to defend the freedom of the press."[91]
Media access was restricted during the raid, with only media sources trusted by the police being allowed.[92] During the police news conferences conducted to provide updates about the search, numerous news outlets includingReuters,Associated Press,Agence France-Presse,RTHK andStand News were barred.[93][94] The media representatives allowed to remain were denied questions.[72]
During the raid, the Next Media Trade Union protested the police reading through the confidential news materials in the newsroom.[95] Steve Li Kwai-wah, the Senior Superintendent from the new National Security Department, said they searched the area since one of the arrestees had an office on the assigned floor.[96][97] Li also said the officers only "scanned" the materials to confirm their relevance to the case.[98][99] Legal scholarJohannes Chan later criticised the move, stating that even a quick scan jeopardised theconfidentiality in news reporting.[100]
International communities responded toApple Daily's raid with condemnation, with global organisations highlighting the erosion ofpress freedom in Hong Kong.[11][101]Amnesty International spoke against theharassment of journalists, and called for all criminal charges related to the national security law to be dropped.[102] The Asia Chapter of theAsian American Journalists Association (AAJA-Asia) expressed their support forApple Daily, and urged Hong Kong's leaders to uphold the values offree speech.[103]Keith Richburg, a journalism professor at theUniversity of Hong Kong, described the "frightening prospect" for journalists to operate under the national security law.[104] Christophe Deloire, the Secretary General atReporters Without Borders, said that "the Hong Kong government clearly seeks to take down a symbolic figure of press freedom."[93][105]
TheForeign Correspondents' Club (FCC) in Hong Kong was also critical about the police's obstruction of news coverage during the raid, raising worries about propaganda in the absence of press freedom.[94]Human Rights Watch stated that the raid onApple Daily may be motivated by a desire to censor an independent Chinese media outlet.[74] TheCommittee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the national security law was used to "suppress critical pro-democracy opinion and restrict press freedom", and called for Lai's immediate release.[106] Activist groups inTaiwan advocated for further international sanctions on Chinese government officials to support the arrestees.[107]
Government officials around the world condemned Lai's arrest and the police raid onApple Daily.[108][109]Tsai Ing-wen, thepresident of Taiwan, expressed her disappointment over the continuous erosion of Hong Kong's human rights and democracy.[110]Mike Pompeo, theUnited States Secretary of State, said that Beijing eviscerated Hong Kong's freedoms.[101]Yoshihide Suga, theChief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, voiced grave concern over Hong Kong's situation following the arrests.[73] In contrast, China'sForeign Ministry spokespersonZhao Lijian approved of the mass arrests on the pro-democracy figures, stating that the Chinese government supported the national security law.[111]
After the raid, the executives atApple Daily vowed to resume their daily operations.[75] Following a surge of popular demand,Apple announced the plan to print 350,000 copies for their Tuesday publication – a significant increase from theirdaily circulation of 70,000 copies.[112] The print run was later set at 550,000 printed copies.[113][114] A social media campaign encouraging the public to buy the newspaper was launched, and received backing of activistJoshua Wong, singerPong Nan, and lawmakerTed Hui.[115]Apple Daily also uploaded a live stream of theirprint production process.[116]
On 11 August, the Tuesday newspaper was published with the front-pageheadline declaring, "Apple Daily must fight on."[117] Tsang Chi-ho, the former presenter of satirical news showHeadliner, included a blank space in his regular column that simply said, "You can't kill us all."[118] Many Hong Kong residents lined up overnight at newspaper vendors to buy the first printed copies.[119] Readers also purchased the newspapers in bulk, distributing free copies around the city.[118][81] Within hours, multiple convenience stores had sold out all their copies.[115] The high demand came from readers who wanted to show their support towardsApple Daily and preserve press freedom in Hong Kong.[116][120]
On the day of the arrests, Next Digital'sshares originally fell by 16.7% to a record low of HK$0.075.[121][122] An online campaign then emerged, which encouraged supporters to purchase stock in the company.[123] Following the campaign, the stock experienced a 1100% gain over the next two days, reaching a record high in the past seven years.[113][124] On Tuesday, the stock closed at HK$1.10 and became the third highest performer on theHong Kong Stock Exchange that day.[114][125] On Wednesday, the shares fell over 40% after theSecurities and Futures Commission issued a warning about the high volatility.[126] A probe by police into alleged market manipulation led to the arrest of 15 suspects on 10 September 2020.[127]
Lai was released in the early morning of 12 August after 40 hours in detention.[128] Later that day, he arrived at theApple Daily newsroom, and was met with cheers from employees.[129] He urged staff members to fight on, with the support of the Hong Kong people, and not let them down.[130]
Home page ofApple Daily website announcing its closure: "National security agents raid Apple, all activities cease at midnight; final edition tomorrow (24 June 2021). Thank you for your support"
The assets of three companies, Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and AD Internet Limited, as well as accounts belonging to Jimmy Lai worth more than HK$500 million, having already been frozen on 14 May 2021,[131] a 500-strong contingent of police officers raidedApple Daily's headquarters on 17 June. They arrested CEO Cheung Kim-hung, COO Royston Chow, chief editor Ryan Law, associate publisher Chan Pui-man and platform director of Apple Daily Digital, Cheung Chi-wai, and charged them on suspicion of violating Article 29 of the national security law, which outlaws collusion with external forces to endanger national security.[32][132] HK$18m ($2.3m; £1.64m) of the companies' assets were frozen.[30]
Apple Daily warned that press freedom in Hong Kong was "hanging by a thread."[133]
The raid and arrests were criticised by the United States,[134]European Union, and the United Kingdom,[135] as well as the United Nations' human rights spokesperson.[136] The Chinese central government has rejected the criticism that the national security law was used to suppress press freedom and said external forces should "stop undermining Hong Kong's rule of law on the pretext of press freedom".[137] Supporters in Hong Kong showed support for the newspaper by buying it, which increased its print run to 500,000 the day after the arrests.[138]
On 21 June, the paper announced it would have to close unless the accounts were unfrozen, as it was unable to pay its staff or support operating costs.[33] On 23 June, the newspaper said it would close "in view of staff members' safety" and the print run of 24 June would be its last.[18][13]Apple Daily also said its digital version would go offline at 23:59 Hong Kong Time (UTC+8) on 23 June.[139]
Activists backed up the news articles fromApple Daily on various blockchain platforms to ensure the content was available and free from Chinese censorship.[140]
In 2023, thedomain itself was taken over, in a move known asdomain squatting, by Serbian entrepreneur Nebojša Vujinović who used the website to postAI-generated clickbait articles on a range of topics, none of them related to the position ofApple Daily before the takeover.[141]
Apple editorialist "Li Ping" (Yeung Ching-kei) was arrested on 23 June "on suspicion of conspiring to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security",[142][143] Fung Wai-kong, editor-in-chief of the English news section at Apple, was arrested on 27 June at Hong Kong International Airport while attempting to flee the city.[142][144]
United States PresidentJoe Biden released a statement that, "It is a sad day for media freedom in Hong Kong and around the world. Intensifying repression by Beijing has reached such a level thatApple Daily, a much-needed bastion of independent journalism in Hong Kong, has now ceased publishing. Through arrests, threats, and forcing through a National Security Law that penalizes free speech, Beijing has insisted on wielding its power to suppress independent media and silence dissenting views."[145] The European Union released a statement that "the National Security Law imposed by Beijing is being used to stifle freedom of the press and the free expression of opinions" and that closure ofApple "undermines media freedom and pluralism",[146] a sentiment also shared by UK Foreign MinisterDominic Raab.[147] Taiwan similarly called the closure "political oppression" and that it "sounded the death knell for freedom of press, publication, and speech in Hong Kong".[148] Japanese government spokespersonKatsunobu Kato called the paper's closure a "major setback" for freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Hong Kong and voiced grave concerns over the situation.[149] Amnesty International said that the "forced closure ofApple Daily is the blackest day for media freedom in Hong Kong's recent history".[150]
People queue to buy the final print edition ofApple Daily inMong Kok.
Chinese state-owned newspaperGlobal Times describedApple Daily as "secessionist" and quoted Chinese commentators as saying that the closure is the "end of an era in which foreign proxies and secessionist forces meddled in China's internal affairs".[151] The Chinese foreign minister said that "no one or no organisation is above the law. All rights and freedom, including media freedom, cannot go beyond the bottom line of national security."[150] North Korea has condemnedApple Daily and has accused foreign countries of foreign interference in Hong Kong.[152]
The final print issue of the paper was met with high demand and sold out, despite a million copies being printed compared to the usual 80,000.[153] Hong Kongers formed long queues and waited for hours to buy the final edition of the paper.[154]
The European Parliament passed a motion by 578 votes to 29, with 73 abstentions, on Thursday, 8 July 2021, condemning "in the strongest terms the recent forced closure of [Apple Daily], the continued freezing of its assets and the arrests of its journalists." It also demanded the Hong Kong government to "stop harassing and intimidating journalists, release arbitrarily detained prisoners, and denounces any attempts to muzzle pro-democracy activists and their activities" and called for the imposition of sanctions on Hong Kong officials. In turn, the Chinese government rejected the parliament's "smears and slanders".[155][156]
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