Anti-Occupy protesters defy court order, block Apple Daily delivery
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 14 October, 2014, 6:55am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 14 October, 2014, 7:42am
Eddie Lee and Peter So
Police officers outside the Apple Daily offices in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: Handout
More than 100 people, mostly women wearing facemasks, surrounded the headquarters of the Apple Daily newspaper in the night to Tuesday in an ongoing effort to stop the newspaper’s operations.
The protesters said they wanted to voice their anger against what they regard as the newspaper’s favourable coverage of the Occupy movement.
The High Court issued a court order in the early hours of Tuesday, which called on the group to clear the newspaper office’s entrances.
The night to Tuesday marked the third consecutive night the group camped out at the Tseung Kwan O site.
Police officers formed a human chain to separate protesters from Apple Daily staff. It appears that not arrests have been made.
The group of mostly women continued to block the main gate until dawn. Delivery trucks could not enter the premises.
A Nathan Road newsstand owner surnamed Yuen, who runs his business near Occupy Mong Kok, said Tuesday was the second day the delivery of Apply Daily had been delayed.
As of 6.45am on Tuesday, he has yet to receive the newspaper. Usually, he receives the Apple Daily around 2am. Mr Tam, who runs a news stall on Shantung Street, said he received only ten copies of the Apple Daily through a distributor, but the paper was missing the sport and the business section. He also received 75 copies of the paper's entertainment and supplementary section, which have been delivered separately.
"How can I sell the paper without its front-page?" said Tam. "Many customers want to buy Apple Daily, but I have to reserve the few copies to some close customers."
In the previous night, protesters had left by dawn after delivery of the newspaper had effectively been delayed. Some protesters left on chartered buses, while others walked away.
_____________________________________________________
Apple Daily boss may take court action over anti-Occupy protests at newspaper
PUBLISHED : Monday, 13 October, 2014, 4:16pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 14 October, 2014, 8:13am
Thomas Chan and Danny Mok
Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, the owner of Next Media, could seek a court injunction to stop protesters blocking operations at his flagship newspaper, the Apple Daily, according to an online video programme on its website.
Li Wai-ling, the programme host, said Lai would pursue legal avenues to prevent anti-Occupy groups from shutting down the newspaper's operations.
The delivery of Apple Daily copies yesterday was delayed for five to six hours after about 100 anti-Occupy protesters blocked the entrances of the newspaper's offices in a Tseung Kwan O industrial estate.
"I think this is a serious infringement of press freedom," Li said in the programme, adding that journalism associations should condemn the act.
Yesterday afternoon the media group reported that the Apple Daily website had been knocked offline by a massive cyberattack.
Apple Daily is a major local newspaper openly supporting the democracy protests sweeping the territory.
Police said protesters gathered outside the paper's headquarters on Chun Ying Street at about 3.45pm on Sunday.
The protesters said they wanted to voice their anger against what they regard as the newspaper's favourable coverage of the Occupy movement.
The group, mostly women, erected tents at the building's entrances, obstructing delivery trucks and staff buses.
Many of the protesters spoke Cantonese with a mainland accent.
It was the second consecutive night that anti-Occupy protesters had targeted the media group's headquarters.
Next Media employees appealed in vain for them to leave or at least to allow trucks to pass through. Police stepped in after the media group complained.
In the early morning hours, protesters allowed some trucks to leave the compound but examined the cargo to make sure they did not carry newspapers.
By 5am, almost all the protesters had left the scene either on foot or on private coaches that arrived to pick them up.
By 7am, copies of the Apple Daily started appearing at newsstands in Mong Kok and on Hong Kong Island. But some newsstand owners said that the newspapers were usually available at around 1am.
The protesters' departure gave the newspaper only a short reprieve. Yesterday afternoon, the newspaper said its website had been targeted by hackers, making it inaccessible for some readers.
