Thread by @WilliamYang120

“The shutdown of Apple Daily was definitely the last straw that led to the decision. As a veteran, I simply could not find a suitable position that I would fit without worrying about my integrity and personal safety," said Pak, a journalist from #HK. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

At least 1,562 Hong Kong civil society jobs have been lost so far to the government’s crackdown on dissent under a Beijing-imposed national security law, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

More than 60 organizations including media companies, trade unions, political bodies, and religious and human rights groups have disbanded in the past year, under intense pressure from national security police.

“This has a massive cost that cannot easily be expressed in numbers. I see an entire generation of young people wondering what the future for independent, critical reporting in Hong Kong looks like,” said @lokmantsui.

Many of the newly unemployed have struggled to find jobs or were forced to change professions, according to interviews with a dozen people who lost their jobs.

Some have become taxi drivers or food delivery workers, while one person opened a fast food restaurant. A former Apple Daily writer said applicants to his consultancy firm often ask if he’d be arrested, too. Others, like Pak, quit the city entirely.

Those who leave Hong Kong often face language barriers while those who stay must deal with the stigma of a national security probe, said Ronson Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

“I don’t think it is easy for them to move forward, even if they emigrate,” he said. “I would describe it as a disastrous situation.”

In an emailed statement responding to questions, the Hong Kong government said the security law had “restored stability and increased the confidence in Hong Kong, thereby allowing the city to resume its normal operation and return to the path of development.”

The city’s once-freewheeling media scene has suffered the most, accounting for some 1,115 -- or 71% -- of job losses, including full-time and part-time positions, according to data complied by Bloomberg News.

That means roughly 20% of media workers for Chinese-language organizations in the city have lost their jobs in the past 12 months.

Stand News, which chronicled the pro-democracy protests in 2019, announced last month it would immediately close and lay off all staff, after national security police raided the online portal’s newsroom.

That cost 60 jobs, according to Chan. Less than a week later, Citizen News shuttered amid security fears, losing another 40 positions.

Just under half of Apple Daily journalists transitioned into public relations, finance and content creation roles, according to job movements observed by Asia-based media relations platform Telum Media

Vacancies in those industries have soared amid population outflows, he added. Hong Kong’s population saw a 1.2% decline over the past 12 months, amid pandemic curbs and the changing political environment.

Others spoke of needing to recover from the “trauma” of the security probes. They said they’re embracing the “lying flat” social protest movement, which has seen millennials in mainland China opt out of work and the pressures of society.