LIVE: Hong Kong Bids Emotional Farewell to Apple Daily Newspaper Shut by China | Top News

(June 24) Hong Kong activists said goodbye to the Apple Daily newspaper in a dramatic midnight vigil as the pro-democracy tabloid became the latest victim in Beijing’s campaign to silence dissent in the former British colony.

Locals gathered outside the paper’s headquarters late Wednesday to show their support, chanting and waving smartphone flashlights. They also lined up early Thursday to buy the newspaper’s final edition. The Apple Daily said earlier it would stop operating due to concern over manpower and the safety of employees.

Over its 26 years, the paper owned by now-jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai unearthed the hidden wealth of high-ranking Chinese Communist Party leaders and exposed the unethical practices of officials in Hong Kong. The newspaper was known for scoops and investigative coverage, and also for its racy reporting on entertainment, crime and celebrity gossip, including sensational paparazzi photos.

“I don’t think I want to read other newspapers,” said Eric Cheng, a medical worker in his 30s who bought the paper in the middle of the night. “These few years a lot of things happened, and there are things other newspapers won’t say. They silenced those voices.”

The version of Apple Daily published in Taiwan has said it will continue operating as normal. Taiwanese Vice President William Lai said the Hong Kong paper’s closure left him saddened.

“Freedom of the press is like the air for democracy,” he said on Twitter. “The people of Hong Kong are losing Apple Daily but they will not lose their courage. Their dignity and ideals are still there. Taiwan stands with you.”

Former Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying -- who has said the sweeping changes Beijing made to the city’s election system this year would allow for housing issues to be resolved -- cheered the demise of the publication.

“All Hong Kong people who have been harassed by Apple Daily and other media publications and paparazzi, and persecuted by rumors and fraud, will celebrate tomorrow,” he wrote on Facebook late Wednesday.

China has used a national security law imposed on Hong Kong last year to silence democracy activists and other prominent voices that challenge its rule, generating criticism from the West. Authorities last week arrested Apple Daily’s three top editors and two executives at Next Digital Ltd., which publishes it, with some 500 police officers descending on the company’s offices.

Two arrested Apple Daily managers -- Editor-in-Chief Ryan Law and Deputy Editor Cheung Chi-wai -- filed a lawsuit against the police Wednesday questioning the legality of their arrests warrants and requested all seized journalistic material be returned, local the local Ming Pao newspaper reported.

As Apple Daily closed, Hong Kong’s first trial under that law started before three judges appointed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, marking a break from the common law tradition of jury trials.

The proceedings involving waiter Tong Ying-kit continue Thursday. The 24-year-old, who has been held without bail for almost a year, pleaded not guilty to charges of incitement to secession and engaging in terrorist activities over his actions during a protest last year.

He faces up to life in prison under the law, which bars subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers. Apple Daily’s Jimmy Lai is among the more than 100 people charged under the legislation, including much of the local Legislative Council’s former pro-democracy opposition.

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