What Apple Daily Means for Hong Kong
The crackdown on Apple Daily and Jimmy Lai is the culmination of a decades-long saga that encapsulates the broader struggle for press freedom in Hong Kong.
December 19, 2020
In this Sept. 15, 2020, file photo, Jimmy Lai, among groups of pro-democracy activists, arrives at a court in Hong Kong.
Credit: AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File
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When Hong Kong transitioned from British to Chinese rule, the city’s media landscape entered into a chapter of change that has tested the limits of press freedom. Now, it’s teetering on the edge of a breaking point.
In the 1980s, negotiations between the two powers resulted in a clash of political influences in Hong Kong. The city enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, both before and immediately after the 1997 handover, but was also subject to a growing tide of Chinese influence.