Soy sauce attack on Apple Daily
Groups of knife-wielding men poured soy sauce yesterday over copies of two Chinese-language newspapers, including the pro-democracy Apple Daily, in three simultaneous early-morning attacks.
Groups of knife-wielding men poured soy sauce yesterday over copies of two Chinese-language newspapers, including the pro-democracy , in three simultaneous early-morning attacks.
Journalists' unions condemned the case, which follows a blockade of 's headquarters by opponents of the Occupy Central campaign, as a "blatant attack on press freedom" and demanded police action.
But 's editor-in-chief said it was not clear if the paper had been targeted specifically.
At about 2.30am, masked men in groups of four and five approached delivery staff in Central, Hung Hom and Cheung Sha Wan. Threatening the staff with knives, they poured sauce on stacks of newspapers, hitting 15,200 copies of and more than 20,000 copies of , a free sheet owned by rival firm Sing Tao Corporation.
Police are treating the case as criminal damage and intimidation, and are seeking 14 suspects.
said it sold 210,000 copies yesterday despite the attack. Its audited average circulation for the first half of this year was 190,000. Chief editor Cheung Kim-hung said staff had reported the case to police, but added: "At this moment, we do not know if this is targeting ."
But the staff union at owner Next Media hit out at the "despicable behaviour" and urged the police to bring the masterminds to justice.
Anti-Occupy protesters have besieged Next's Tseung Kwan O offices since October 12, forcing staff to form human chains to get copies of the paper out. Staff say police did little despite a court order against the protesters.
"There's little staff can do if they start to damage our papers across the city," union chairman Li Ka-chung said. "We really hope the police could … arrest these thugs who attack press freedom."
Journalists Association chairwoman Sham Yee-lan added: "This is no longer just 's problem; it has become an outright attack aimed at depriving the public of their right to know."
owner Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is an ardent supporter of the Occupy movement and his businesses have complained of a series of attempts at intimidation and disruption, including cyberattacks and advertising boycotts by businesses with ties to Beijing.
