The closure of Apple Daily marks the start of a sinister new era for Hong Kong | Louisa Lim

The days of a free and freewheeling press are over as China continues its attacks on any criticism of the regime

Louisa Lim is the author of The People's Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited and a senior lecturer at the University of Melbournen recent weeks, I've read one example after another of a heartbreaking new genre of farewell journalism from some of Hong Kong's most prominent figures. They cite different reasons for stopping. One says his contract might not be renewed; another that he's too tired and feeble" to continue; a third cites the growing number of things that are completely unspeakable". The truth is that in the year since Beijing imposed national security legislation upon Hong Kong, writing has simply become too perilous.