After three decades of working as a photojournalist, Stanley Lai lost his job and became a taxi driver. Photo: Viola Zhou
Chan San-ching, a former financial journalist at Apple Daily, is now running a small diner. Photo: Viola Zhou
Chan recalled crying with his colleagues and greeting supporters on Apple Daily’s last day, in June, when the newspaper printed its last issue after police froze the assets and charged its executives with national security violations. Employees were dismissed without receiving their last month’s salaries or severance pay.Disappointed by increasing pressure of censorship, Chan decided to shift his focus from telling stories to earning money. “There is no point being a journalist anymore,” Chan said. “Hong Kong is a place to make money, not a place to have a life.”Chan delivered food for two weeks, later opening the small diner in a bustling residential neighborhood, serving Hong Kong classics like pork knuckles, tomato noodle soup, and milk tea. Its signature dish is a giant fried chicken leg that local food reviewers have praised as “larger than a human face.”In Hong Kong’s competitive food scene, the place has also earned a special reputation of being run by an ex–Apple Daily newsman. While I was there, some customers told Chan to “add oil”—an expression of solidarity often used by supporters of the city’s pro-democracy movement. I even bumped into another reporter who was working nearby and in need of a snack. “I’m a honggaa,” he told Chan, using the Cantonese word for colleague, before leaving with a chicken leg the size of a small iPad.“There is no point being a journalist anymore.”
Giant fried chicken leg is a signature dish at Chan's restaurant. Photo: Viola Zhou
Hong Kong people line up to buy the final issue of Apple Daily after the paper announced its closure following a police raid in June. Photo: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images
In October, Harry was able to return to his old profession with an offer from Stand News. When his new employer was raided, he told me, the pain seemed to be more manageable. “I felt like my entire family died when Apple Daily closed,” the 29-year-old said. “With Stand News, it felt more like breaking up with my girlfriend.” Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said the shutdown of several news outlets did not indicate any loss of press freedom in the city. Beijing’s powerful liaison office in Hong Kong called Stand News a political organization disguised as media and accused it of supporting riots and damaging the rule of law. It also said the sedition case had nothing to do with press freedom. However, according to a poll by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, 62 percent of people deemed the press and information in Hong Kong “not free” after Stand News and Citizen News announced their closure, and 54 percent of the respondents expected the closures to cause a decline in government accountability. The crackdown on dissent has shaken even news outlets that had long been regarded as politically moderate.“I felt like my entire family died when Apple Daily closed.”
Police carry boxes of evidence collected from Stand News' office during a raid on Dec. 29. Photo: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Lai has always worked the night shift, first as a reporter and now as taxi driver. Photo: Viola Zhou
Lai has his lunch, rice with tofu and roasted pork, at a parking spot where news vans used to park. Photo: Viola Zhou