HONG KONG, June 18 (Reuters) – Hong Kong democracy supporters flocked to buy copies of pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily on Friday, citing anger over a police raid of its newsroom as part of an inquiry into whether some articles threatened China’s national security.
The popular 26-year-old paper, which combines liberal discourse with celebrity gossip and investigations of those in power, increased its Friday press run to 500,000 copies, up from 80,000 the previous day.
Apple’s presses whirred out the first copies of the print run around midnight, and the papers were whisked away by vans and trucks across Hong Kong.
In the Mong Kok district, queues formed at some kiosks, with some customers carting off hundreds of first editions on trolleys and suitcases.
“You never know when this newspaper will die,” said one reader surnamed Tsang who only gave his last name because of the sensitivity of the matter. “As Hong Kongers, we need to preserve the history. Hang in there as long as we can. Although the road is rough, we still need to walk it, as there’s no other road.”
By the morning, some newsstands in central Hong Kong had already sold out. One displayed a picture of Apple’s logo with the words “Support press freedom” beneath it.
Tam, a 40-year-old banker, said he’d bought his first newspaper in 20 years after hearing about the raid.
“I don’t mean to do anything with the newspaper in my hand. It’s just for my conscience,” he said.
Police arrested five executives, including Apple’s chief editor Ryan Law, over allegations of “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements” to endanger national security. They also froze HK$18 million ($2.32 million) of assets owned by three companies linked to the paper read more
It was the second time police had raided the newsroom after the arrest last year of media tycoon Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy activist and staunch Beijing critic, who owns Next Digital (0282.HK), which publishes Apple Daily.
