Hong Kong’s Apple Daily vows to ‘fight on’ after owner’s arrest, witnesses outpouring of public support
DHARAMSALA, 11 Aug: Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily has vowed to ‘fight on after’ police arrested its owner Jimmy Lai and raided its headquarters.
Responding with defiance to the arrest of its owner, who is a prominent democracy activist critical of Communist party rule in China, the tabloid promised to ‘fight on’ with a front-page headline above an image of Lai in handcuffs.
“The prayers and encouragement of many readers and writers make us believe that as long as there are readers, there will be writers, and that Apple Daily shall certainly fight on,” it read.
Apple Daily has printed half a million copies today, 4,80,000 additional copies from its normal circulation, the paper declared on its’ website.
In spite of it, the copies of Apple Daily however was reported sold out from the local convenience stores and newspaper stalls as it received outpouring of public support.
“Residents lined up around 2am on Tuesday, hours after the daily tabloid’s offices were raided by police following Lai’s arrest, to buy copies of the paper in a show of support,” reports the Guardian.
According to a report on Reuters, shares in Lai’s media company, Next Digital, which publishes Apple Daily, soared on Monday as online pro-democracy forums called on investors to buy shares to show support.
Jimmy Lai, the founder of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, a tabloid-style newspaper was detained in the most high-profile police operation under national security law on Monday along with his two sons and four senior staff as well as former student activist Agnes Chow Ting and two others were all allegedly arrested for “suspected collusion with foreign forces.”
The controversial legislation imposed on June 30 punishes anything Beijing considers secession, subversion, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison and the law still continues to draw heavy international criticism from world leaders and right groups a like.
