Thu 02 December 2021:
The World Association of News Publishers has given Jimmy Lai, a jailed Hong Kong media tycoon, and the staff of his now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper a prestigious press freedom award.
Apple Daily, once Hong Kong’s most popular pro-democracy publication, went bankrupt in June when authorities froze its assets under a national security regulation enacted by Beijing to quell dissent.
Apple Daily’s outspoken founder, Lai, as well as a number of senior executives and editors, have been jailed on “foreign collusion” allegations stemming from the publication’s support for international sanctions against China.
This year’s Golden Pen of Freedom award, according to Warren Fernandez, president of the World Editors Forum, emphasized the “fears and challenges” of journalists in Hong Kong, a regional media hub.
“The jailing of a publisher, the arrest of an editor-in-chief and his senior colleagues, the shuttering of a newsroom, and the closure of a media title — the 2021 Golden Pen award recognises, and reflects on, all of these,” Fernandez said at a virtual ceremony on Wednesday.
The newspaper Apple Daily was known for its sharp criticism of China’s leaders, and Beijing made no secret of its wish to have it shut down.
Sebastien Lai, receiving the award on behalf of his father, said there will be “less and less people shining light in these dark corners” given Apple Daily’s shutdown and the ongoing crackdown on journalism in the region.
The Golden Pen of Freedom Award, established in 1961, honors extraordinary efforts to the defense and development of journalistic freedom.
(with agency)
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