The farewell ceremony for Apple Daily in a public housing estate
Translated by Guardian of Hong Kong – July 18, 2021
Remember 24 June 2021. On this day the last issue of Apple Daily was printed. It was a murder case announced well in advance.
At noon, we started our search around convenient stores and newsstands from the centre of Sha Tin for Apple Daily but we didn’t manage to find any. When we reached a public housing estate, someone walked towards us with a pile of newspapers. “Where did you buy them?" We asked. “In the market, there are still some." He answered and pointed to the market. We then sped up and upon arrival at the market, all the Apple Daily were just sold out and a notice stating “a total of 5,000 copies of Apple Daily. Thank You." was still there. A middle age man insisted on leaving HKD10 (the price of a copy of Apple Daily) behind. “Please inform me when the next stock arrives. Refund only when there is no more stock to come.” The shopkeeper rejected. After some exchange, a passerby suggested, “Why don’t you get the other newspaper?” As a result, the crowd scattered.
After lunch, we returned to that same stall to check our luck. The Notice was changed to "more Apple Daily are coming." and people started lining up, including us. The management staff requested the people to queue outside the market as there were too many people blocking the entrance. But the people followed the instruction without any complaint. It felt like, “As long as I can get a copy, whatever.”
Soon, a van arrived with a pile of Apple Daily. This was the 3rd and last batch, totalling 1,500. We bought 2 and then observed by the side. This stall had a characteristic. All the staffs were communicating with sign language. They probably were hard of hearing or mute. If a customer wished to get a paper, shouting wouldn’t help. They had to put up a finger to indicate how many copies they wanted.
As people communicated with sign language, the whole process was quiet. The people in the queue were quiet. They waited quietly and walked forward quietly. They quietly showed their fingers, handed over the cash and then picked up their newspapers. They finally left quietly. It happened like a farewell ceremony to Apple Daily. They could not do anything else other than showing their respect quietly with their seemingly faint power.
We had observed for half an hour witnessing a wide variety of people buying the paper. Adults tended to buy 2 or more copies. Secondary students in uniform tended to buy 1 each. They would probably read it themselves. (Will they be brainwashed by the Chinese civic education shortly?) People in their 30s tended to buy quite a few ranging from 5 to 20. They probably bought them to share with friends and family.
It was an extraordinarily picture of a big crowd. Even the staffs in the stall had never seen anything like this. They took out their phones to take videos of the scene record this history.
The stall was located at the entrance of the market. Many from the neighbourhood walked past. Some people were initially chatting loudly. But they seemed to be affected by the saddening atmosphere and turned down their voice when they walked near this farewell ceremony. Some were curious about the long queue and asked, “Were they giving out free goodies?” “Were the people fools?” Those in the queue did not care about what they said and continued to wait.
A mother, after buying a copy, explained to her son, “Do you know why so many people are here? It is because today is the last day we can buy a copy of Apple Daily”. Her son asked, "why?"
After seeing the big pile of Apple Daily getting shorter and shorter, the mother sighed, "They were forced to close down.”
Source: Stand News #Jun24
Author: Ah Guo
#AppleDaily