Apple Daily: The ‘death’ of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper could begin an exodus of media outlets

With Apple Daily closing, William Yang asks if other media organisations will now feel pressure to close in Hong Kong

Lam Man-Chung, executive editor-in-chief of Apple Daily, works on the final edition of the newspaper (Reuters)

Less than a week after a dramatic raid of its newsroom and the freezing of its assets, Hong Kong’s most famous pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily announced on Wednesday that it would publish the last edition of its physical paper on Thursday, and cease operations and online news updates by midnight on the same day.

The announcement brought forward by two days the original plan, made by the board of directors of its parent company Next Digital, which was to publish the paper’s last edition on Saturday.

“Considering employees’ safety and the remaining manpower in the newsroom, we have decided to cease operation after midnight on Thursday and publish the last physical paper on the same day,” the paper wrote on its website.