by It is now ranked 80th, below Kyrgyzstan and Kosovo.
The shut down of the last pro-democracy newspaper in the city means independent coverage outside of the Alibaba-owned South China Morning Post will be left to a small band of online outlets including Citizen News, Stand News and Hong Kong Free Press.
The chilling effect on all of them and anyone they interview is real.
Kevin Carrico, an Apple Daily columnist and senior lecturer in Chinese studies at Monash University, said he was drawn partly to Hong Kong after leaving China because of the dynamism and diversity of Hong Kongs media scene.
The city that used to be known for freedom of the press, for dynamic and open debate, is now genuinely missing those freedoms, he said.
Customers queue up for last issue of Apple Daily at a newspaper booth at a downtown street in Hong Kong on Thursday. Credit:AP
Hong Kongs Chief Executive Carrie Lam offered reporters an impossible task when she was asked by journalists how they could avoid breaching the national security laws, given they covered any threat to the authority of the state.
I think you are in a better position to answer that question, she said on Tuesday. Dont try to beautify these acts of endangering national security. Dont try to accuse the Hong Kong authorities [of] using the national security law as a tool to suppress the media or to stifle the freedom of expression.
Lam said there was no problem with criticising the Hong Kong government but inciting subversion crossed a red line.
The challenge for the media and the public is knowing where that line is.
Hongkongers were arrested in July for holding up blank pieces of paper after political slogans were banned. A year later, public gatherings outside of more than four are still outlawed under COVID-19 restrictions, yet banquets for more than 180 people inside restaurants are now allowed.
A vender adjusts a stack of last issue of Apple Daily at a newspaper booth in Hong Kong. Credit:AP
Exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy leader Nathan Law said it was difficult to comprehend how dreadful the closure of Apple Daily is for Hong Kong, not only to its journalistic landscape but also to the people and the city itself.
The parent company of Apple Daily, Next Digital Limited, is a listed company, he said on Twitter on Thursday. The government forced a listed company to close itself in a matter of days.
The implications go well beyond the freedom of the press in this city that prides itself as a global commercial hub. Financial analysts are likely to think twice before reporting negative outlooks for Chinese state-owned companies. Academics are already avoiding any direct criticism of the government; fewer still are willing to be quoted on the record.
Thats an environment where accountability goes out the window.
Im not in the field of business or finance but if I was I wouldnt feel too comfortable about the Hong Kong governments ability to treat Apple Daily this way, said Carrico.
Carrico said Apple Daily was a product of Hong Kongs unique circumstances.
Its a newspaper established by Lai, an immigrant to Hong Kong from China, who eventually ended up building one of the newspapers that was most confrontational and critical of Chinas takeover of Hong Kongs institutions, he said.
To think that Jimmy Lai, or other editors at Apple Daily are facing potential life sentences for really what boiled down to nothing more than speech crimes, Its really beyond comprehension.
Staff applaud Chan Pui-man, right, associate publisher of Apple Daily and Lam Man-chung, executive editor-in-chief of Apple Daily after the final edition is sent to the printers. Credit:AP
Lai Ching-te, the Vice-President of Hong Kongs threatened liberal democratic neighbour Taiwan, said freedom of the press is like the air for democracy.
I feel quite sad today, he said. The people of Hong Kong are losing Apple Daily but they will not lose their courage.
One Next Digital editor, now out of a job and considering leaving journalism, went searching for a copy of the last Apple Daily at Hong Kong newsagents on Thursday.
I could not even find one for myself this morning, they said.
The Apple may have fallen but the seeds have been planted and rooted within our people.
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