Former chief executive Leung Chun-ying has been targeting the pro-democracy Apple Daily for almost two weeks, urging his supporters to boycott companies which bought advertising space in the pro-democracy tabloid.
Leung first mentioned one of the newspaper’s full-page advertisers on March 16. Highlighting an electric appliance retailer by name, Leung said on his Facebook page: “Should we believe in a company that put up ads in such a newspaper?”
Leung had specifically criticised veteran commentator Lee Yee for a March 13 column article on the death of Peter Wong entitled “Karma.”
Wong was a veteran Hong Kong member of the National People’s Congress who died earlier this month aged 70. Lee wrote that some Hong Kong people were happy about his passing.
今天蘋果日報有一版全版廣告，如下：
Posted by CY Leung on Wednesday, 27 March 2019
“This guy often proposed the legislation of Article 23 [the national security law], which Hong Kong people fear the most, at National People’s Congress meetings – this not only failed to reflect the general wishes of Hong Kong people, but it also helped the neo-colonisers force this evil law upon Hong Kong people,” Lee wrote.
“It is natural that many Hong Kong people took the bad news as good news.”
In response, Leung said the public must respond to the “lack of morality” in Lee’s article and seek justice for the dead, by boycotting the advertisers. He has made social media posts on an almost daily basis drawing attention to full-page advertisers.
Last Friday, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) issued a statement, saying that it was extremely concerned about Leung’s behaviour: “Hong Kong protects freedom of speech, but when exercising this freedom, residents should respect others’ freedom to choose, and consider the negative impact of their speech,” it said.
The HKJA said the behaviour of Leung, now a state leader, is watched by many and can influence the community: “His public pressure against advertisers is not desirable – it does not only make people feel he is trying to affect commercial decisions, [but] it also sets a bad precedent, causing unnecessary trouble for advertisers.”
“As a free and open economy, free trade is key to Hong Kong’s success. Residents have the freedom to choose their media, and advertisers can conduct their own analysis and choose which outlets to advertise with. The decisions of advertisers are commercial ones and should not be interfered with.”
四川汶川大地震，李怡說是天譴；泰國布吉海難，李怡說是自作孽；港區人大代表去世，李怡說是報應。今天蘋果日報的全版廣告如下。進邦匯理是三大版。李怡昨天在蘋果日報的專欄為他就汶川地震死難同胞寫的《天譴論》辯解。今天早上我將李怡在去年7月12日在布吉海難後寫的《天作孽與自作孽》放上面書，讓大家評個道理。李怡對死者的污衊昭昭在目，廣告商們，你們真的要堅持在蘋果賣廣告嗎？
Posted by CY Leung on Friday, 22 March 2019
Leung said in response that Apple Daily advertisers have a duty to explain to consumers if they agree with the newspaper on important moral issues.
“Consumers of the free world have the right to be concerned about the moral stance of providers of products and services,” Leung said. “Mass boycotts of product and services providers who cross moral bottom lines are common.”
“Enterprises of the free world have moral responsibilities. They cannot ignore their responsibilities by talking about ‘free trade’ like the HKJA,” he added.
Leung urged the HKJA to reflect on itself.
