Photos: Hong Kong bids farewell to pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily

Across Hong Kong, people lined up early on June 24 to buy the final print edition of the last remaining pro-democracy newspaper. By 8:30 am, Apple Daily's final edition of 1 million copies was sold out across most of the city's newsstands. The newspaper said it would cease operations after police froze USD 2.3 million in assets, searched its office and arrested five top editors and executives last week, accusing them of foreign collusion to endanger national security. The shutdown deals the most serious blow yet to Hong Kong's media freedoms and could potentially destroy the city's reputation as an open and free media hub after Beijing imposed the security law on the global financial centre last year.

Published on: Jun 24, 2021 4:28 PM IST

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Published on Jun 24, 2021 4:28 PM

Copies of the final issue of Hong Kong's pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper arrives at a newspaper booth in Hong Kong, early on June 24. Hong Kong residents snapped up last-edition copies of the final edition of Apple Daily after it was forced to end a 26-year run amid a national security crackdown that froze the company's funds, Reuters reported. (Vincent Yu / AP)

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Copies of the final edition of Apple Daily newspaper, published by Next Digital Ltd, in Hong Kong on June 24. Apple Daily, owned by staunch Beijing critic Jimmy Lai, who is in jail, is an unapologetic tabloid that mixes pro-democracy discourse with celebrity gossip and investigations of those in power. It has been a thorn in Beijing's side for years, Reuters reported. (Justin Chin / Bloomberg)

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Published on Jun 24, 2021 4:28 PM

People queue to buy copies of the final edition of Apple Daily, in Hong Kong on June 24. Emotions ran high as supporters of the paper, which has faced an unrelenting squeeze since tycoon Lai was arrested under the security law in August 2020, queued for their last copies of the popular newspaper just after midnight. (Lam Yik / REUTERS)

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Supporters gather outside the offices of Apple Daily and its publisher Next Digital, in Hong Kong on June 24. Queues stretched at newsstands across the city after an emotional final print run at the paper's headquarters. (Tyrone Siu / REUTERS)

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Apple Daily staff members wave outside the headquarters of the newspaper and its publisher Next Digital Ltd., in Hong Kong on June 24. "Thank you to all readers, subscribers, ad clients and Hong Kongers for 26 years of immense love and support," the paper said in an online article. "Here we say good-bye, take care of yourselves." (Paul Yeung / Bloomberg)

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Published on Jun 24, 2021 4:28 PM

Staff members of Apple Daily work on the final edition of their newspaper in Hong Kong, China on June 23. Last week, 500 officers raided the newspaper's headquarters, with live feeds showing authorities sifting through reporters' notes and other journalistic material in scenes that drew international condemnation, Reuters reported. (Tyrone Siu / REUTERS)

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Owner of the Apple Daily newspaper, Jimmy Lai being led into a police van as he heads to court to be charged under Hong Kong's new national security law, on December 12, 2020. Additionally, five executives were arrested and two - chief editor Ryan Law, 47, and Cheung Kim-hung, 59 - were charged with conspiracy to commit collusion with a foreign country and denied bail. On June 23, a 55-year-old columnist for the paper was also arrested under the national security law, Reuters reported. (Peter Parks / AFP)

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Staff members of Apple Daily and its publisher Next Digital pose with the final edition of the newspaper at its headquarters in Hong Kong on June 24. Authorities have froze the assets of companies related to Apple Daily, which senior executives said left it unable to operate. (Tyrone Siu / REUTERS)