#SaveAppleDaily #Hongkongers
Apple Daily Journalist: Hongkongers will not give up, journalists will never give up

Apple Daily local news journalist received flowers from supportive citizens, as he returned to the newspaper office.

Chan has worked for Apple Daily for over 3 years. He said he would miss "the Hong Kong with Apple Daily".

The 26-year-old top-selling pro-democracy newspaper will cease operation under the authorities' suppression. The last edition will be released after midnight on June 24, 2021.

Chan said all his colleagues are very busy and doing their best in their posts until the final moment of the newspaper.

"I also want to continuing my work at Apple Daily and that Next Digital can go on operating," Chan said. "But it is not we can have what we want."

Chan described Apple Daily as a place for media workers to pursue beliefs and ideals. Seeing editors and journalists getting arrested by the Hong Kong police, Chan said he could see the risk of being a journalist and asked fellow media workers and Hongkongers not to give up.

For its last edition, the newspaper will print 1 million copies. Chan reminded fellow Hongkongers, "Do get a copy of Apple Daily tomorrow!"

Source: Stand News; InMedia #Jun23

https://bit.ly/3vKjGuN

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30198

#NextMegazine chief: “We’ve tried and enjoyed media freedom in the past. We have no regrets.”

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30201

Apple Daily Staff: "We will all become a sturdy apple tree"

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30205

News Anchor Wishes Hongkongers Safe
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30177

Former Staff Bids Farewell to the Newspaper
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30179

#Hongkongers #SupportAppleDaily
Supporting Citizens Chant Outside #AppleDaily Office: "Hongkongers, fight on!"

On June 23, 2021, Apple Daily annnounced the printing of its last edition on the next day, due to the government's suppression of the 26-year-old pro-democracy newspaper.

Since the news of Apple Daily's closure was released, Hongkongers travelled to the newspaper office in Tseung Kwan O to pay tribute to the journalists and the staff who have been fighting for press freedom in the city. Some gave flowers to the staff.

The newspaper will print 1 million copies for its last edition.

In the evening, more and more supporting citizens, including parents with kids, gathered outside the premise, filling up the road, despite the rain.

The public chanted, "Support Apple Daily til the end!" and "Hongkongers, fight on!"

The staff of Apple Daily responded by flashing lights from their office. Some bowed to the supporting citizens.

Source: Stand News #Jun23
https://bit.ly/3wVUjra

#SaveAppleDaily

#Hongkongers #NeverGiveUp
The Spread of #WhiteTerror in a #PoliceState: Hong Kong Authorities' Ultimate Crackdown on Pro-democracy Newspaper #AppleDaily

Image: Lau Yan-hin
Source: Stand News #Jun23

Read more
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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30238

#Hongkongers #NeverGiveUp
The Spread of #WhiteTerror in a #PoliceState: Hong Kong Authorities' Ultimate Crackdown on Pro-democracy Newspaper #AppleDaily

A political satire goes viral on social media, after pro-democracy newspaper #AppleDaily announced its closure the next day on June 23, 2021, due to the goverement's suppression.

The image shows a pen, an apple and hands tied up in a chain of metal rails.

The drawing, which pays tribute to the 26-year-old Apple Daily, is a vivid reflection of the worsening press freedom in Hong Kong.

It implies that any intellectual who dares to write to express their free opinion could be viciously arrested and sent behind bars under the #NationalSecurityLaw.

Image: Lau Yan-hin
Source: Stand News #Jun23

https://www.facebook.com/standnewshk/photos/a.720050934747196/4280539348698319/

#PoliceState #WhiteTerror #PressFreedom

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National Security Police Arrests News Commentator; Pro-democracy #AppleDaily Will Shut Down In One Day

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#LastDay #SupportAppleDaily
#AppleDaily journalists go to work as usual: "Losing job is not as scary as forfeiting integrity."

Source: Stand News #Jun23

Read more: ⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30240

#LastDay #SupportAppleDaily
#AppleDaily journalists go to work as usual: "Losing job is not as scary as forfeiting integrity." (2)

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30240
Read above: ⬆️⬆️

Another journalist Mr Yu said, ever since the 5 management personnel were arrested and Apple Daily’s assets were frozen, he knew he might not be able to work in this company in the near future. So when he was told Apple Daily would stop functioning through messages, it was not ‘hard to digest’ nor ‘surprising’.

He said originally he needed to go back to work, and he planned on packing his personal belongings after work. "It is anticipated that I can’t come back here after today… after all there are potential risks coming back.’ He added, ‘I don’t know what to do in the future, there are so many changes in the world every hour, there is no guarantee if I can still write articles after leaving.’

Sources: Stand News #Jun23
#Solidarity #Hongkongers #FightforFreedom

#ProtestArt
Local artists "draw apples" and salute #AppleDaily amidst #WhiteTerror in the city

Source: Stand News #Jun23

Read more: ⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30243

#ProtestArt
Local artists "draw apples" and salute #AppleDaily amidst #WhiteTerror in the city

Apple Daily is about to cease operation as its assets has been frozen by the Hong Kong Security Bureau. Being a part of lots of Hong Kong people’s lives, its sudden shutdown has widely affected people among different social classes. To salute Apple Daily, local artists use their talents to ‘draw apples’.

Earlier on last Thursday (17/6), when the National Security Police searched the Next Digital building, political cartoonist #JustinWong posted a ‘heart-shaped apple’ picture with a smiley face on the bite-mark to encourage citizens to stay ‘faithful, hopeful and loving’. On the same day, #AhTo also posted a four-panel comic titled ‘May those who speak the truth be safe.’, illustrating how Apple Daily was annihilated for spreading the truth. #HongKongWorker even changed the green apple from a well-known artwork, ‘Le fils de l'homme’ by surrealist painter René Magritte, into red to show his support towards Apple Daily.

On Friday (18/6), Apple Daily printed 500,000 copies in response to citizens’ call for support. #TonyElectronic posted a picture of people dressed in black holding hand-in-hand, surrounding an apple, with caption ‘We will see the lovely HongKongers tomorrow’.

This week, Apple Daily acknowledged the possibility of shutting down, which once again initiated a new round of artwork-responses. Artist #CentralSaintStudent changed Apple Daily’s logo into a ‘bleeding apple’. On 22/6, #AverageGuy posted a 8-picture comic about an apple being stabbed by a knife; artist #TseSaiPei posted a drawing of a fruit stall without apples; #VAWongSir, a former teacher, even portraited a person stepping into deeper waters, starting from the amendment of the extradition law, to the legislation of the Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23.

In the midst of frustration, some artists remained positive. Tony Electronic posted a new picture in which a boy bowed down 90 degrees, saluting to Apple Daily; #Showroom posted a 7-picture comic illustrating the process of throwing an apple onto the ground, to the thrive of an apple tree, implying the hope of rebirth; #Cuson self portraited as a guy holding a ‘disappearing apple’, saluting, with the caption ’things disappeared now have a chance of rebirth in the future’.

Source: Stand News #Jun23
#PoliticalCartoon #HongKongArtist #Art

#SaveAppleDaily #Creativity
In the Rain, #Hongkongers Record their Emotions in #Art

Mr Lo, from the engineering sector, came to the #AppleDaily headquarters after work on June 23, 2021, drawing the final look of the building under the heavy rain.

Lo says that wants to record the feelings at the time in his drawing. He frankly says that his feelings are complicated, since this is the last day of Apple Daily, and the government will soon repossess the land on which the headquarters is built.

He has subscribed to Apple Daily for a long time, and says of his drawing: "This is a sign of something that will later disappear. When Apple Daily stops operating, the news industry will obviously get worse, only allowing one voice."

But he says to all Hongkongers, "There's room in any position at any industry to work hard and shine".

The pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily was closed down after releasing the final edition on June 24, 2021.

Source: In-Media #Jun23
https://bit.ly/3vKjGuN

#PoliticalSuppression

#AppleDaily's Charity Provided $17m to the Needy Last Year, Now in Limbo after Govt Shut Down Newspaper

Source: Citizen News #Jun23

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#AppleDaily's Charity Provided $17m to the Needy Last Year, Now in Limbo after Govt Shut Down Newspaper

When Apple Daily began publication in 1995, the newspaper also established the Apple Daily Charitable Foundation in the same year, funding it with the paper's profits.

The Foundation's latest annual report shows that, in the 2019-20 year, it had donated over HKD 17,000,000 to 225 persons in need, while its bursary program provided support for 214 students with HKD 660,000 in funding.

As Apple Daily is shut down after the government froze its assets, the foundation also could not continue operating, as a district councillor found out from a man seeking help.

Kwai Tsing District councillor #RaymondChow was approached for assistance by an elderly man in his 70s with prostate cancer. The man said that the Apple Daily foundation could no longer provide him with funds for his medication.

He had sought help from Hong Kong Cancer Fund but was put on the waiting list, as there had been too many others applying for help recently.

The man had asked for Councillor Chow's help 3 years ago. At the time, his medication was not registered on the government drug formulary, so he had to pay for the expensive medicine on his own. Neither the Samaritan Fund nor the Yan Chai Hospital Medicine Charitable Fund could help him; in the end, only the Apple Daily foundation would help him bear the costs.

The government has an obligation to step in, Chow said, and so should other government organizations such as Social Welfare Department and Community Care Fund. Otherwise, he says, it is no different than sending the sick straight to the grave.

As for the elderly man, he could now only wait for Hong Kong Cancer Fund's reply.

Source: Citizen News #Jun23

https://www.hkcnews.com/article/42705/蘋果日報-蘋果基金-前列腺癌-42705/《蘋果》停運影響慈善基金-去年捐逾1700萬助225名病患-七旬患癌翁向區議員求助

Hong Kong’s Biggest Pro-Democracy Newspaper Prints Final Edition

On June 23, 2021, crowds of Hong Kong residents gathered in support outside the headquarters of Apple Daily, one of the last bastions of media resistance to Beijing, as it sent its final edition to print. The paper announced it would close after the arrests of senior leadership this week under the draconian national security law introduced last year. Banks froze the newspaper’s assets to avoid being charged themselves.

The rollout of the national security law has seen successive groups targeted: first protest leaders, then democratic politicians, and now journalists. More than 800 Apple Daily staff have lost their jobs while Hong Kong has lost its long-cherished freedom of speech.

Source: Foreign Policy #Jun23

https://t.co/LX9HXxgEHv

#AppleDaily #HongKong #Democracy #Newspaper #NationalSecurityLaw

Hong Kong's first trial under national security law starts without jury

Tong Ying-kit faces life in jail but has pleaded not guilty to inciting secession and terrorism, as well as a charge of dangerous driving.

He is accused of riding a motorbike into several police, flying a flag about the "liberation" of Hong Kong.

Beijing says the national security law criminalises "subversive" acts but critics say it silences dissent.

Source: BBC #Jun23

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-57576848

#TongYingKit #NationalSecurityLaw #Liberation #Beijing

China bolsters ties with Myanmar junta despite international condemnation

Trade and diplomatic ties between Myanmar and China are normalising in the face of intense domestic opposition and international condemnation of the military junta that seized power in February.

Beijing has strengthened relations with Myanmar’s military leaders despite a series of violent attacks against Chinese business interests in the country after Aung San Suu Kyi’s government was toppled.

Yun Sun, an expert on Myanmar-China relations with the Stimson Center, a US think-tank, said Beijing had already made a “fundamental assessment” that Myanmar was moving into another prolonged period of military rule.

Source: Financial Times #Jun23

https://www.ft.com/content/ca43da4c-4287-4de6-ad8a-57a2a32fe7f3

#China #Myanmar #Beijing #AungSanSuuKyi

Hong Kong police arrest editorial writer at Apple Daily newspaper

The editorial writer for Hong Kong’s Apple Daily newspaper has been arrested, the latest move in a media crackdown under the national security law that saw hundreds of police raid its newsroom and arrest senior figures last week.

Police confirmed the arrest of a 55-year-old man in Tseung Kwan O on Wednesday morning, “on suspicion of conspiring to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security”.

He was later identified by the pro-democracy Apple Daily as its lead opinion writer, who publishes under the name Li Ping.

Source: The Guardian #Jun23

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/23/hong-kong-police-arrest-editorial-writer-at-apple-daily-newspaper

#Arrest #Writer #AppleDaily #NationalSecurity #LiPing

Chinese ambassador #XiaoQian interrupted by multiple protesters during speech at University of Technology Sydney

Source: ABC #Jun23

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Chinese ambassador #XiaoQian interrupted by multiple protesters during speech at University of Technology Sydney

//China's ambassador Xiao Qian has echoed calls for "concrete action" to "reset" the relationship with Australia in a speech that was repeatedly disrupted by a series of coordinated protests.

But several protesters interjected during Mr Xiao's address. 

One described Mr Xiao as a "representative of a dictatorship" and accused the Chinese government of committing genocide against the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

He was ushered out by security guards.

One man was asked to leave the venue prior to the event because he was dressed in a Cultural Revolution-era military costume that security described as "confronting".

Another protester held a sign reading "Free Tibet", and other stood up and declared they were a Uyghur and not a terrorist. 

Yet another was escorted out after standing up and criticising China's censorship, saying people in Hong Kong and Tibet were unable to express their views freely...

Professor James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, asked Mr Xiao a number of questions that were provided to the embassy before the event.

He asked Mr Xiao if he could provide any hope for the families of detained Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, or for Uyghurs in Australia who have been unable to contact loved ones in Xinjiang for years. 

"With all my respect for you… I do disagree with you," Mr Xiao said. 

"Freedom of speech is different from absolute freedom. In this world, there's no such thing as absolute freedom. Freedom is freedom within rule of law.

"These are individual cases and the relevant authorities are dealing with these cases according to Chinese rules or regulations.

"So long as they respect the rules and laws, there's no reason for them to worry," the Chinese ambassador said.//

Source: ABC #Jun23

#InternationalRelations #Australia #ChineseAmbassador

#ChineseSpy
Former U.S. Military Pilot Admits Acting as Paid Agent of China and Lying on National Security Background Forms

// Shapour Moinian, 67, of San Diego, is a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot-turned-civilian-contractor. He pleaded guilty in federal court on June 23, 2022, admitting that he acted as an unregistered agent of China and accepted thousands of dollars from representatives of the Chinese government to provide aviation-related information from his defense-contractor employers.

He also pleaded guilty to making related false statements during national security background checks.//

Read more:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-us-military-pilot-admits-acting-paid-agent-china-and-lying-national-security

Source: US Justice #Jun23

#NationalSecurity #Espionage #Bribe #ChineseAgent