Popular Store Chain Pulls Epoch Times Hong Kong Newspapers From Shelves, Drawing Concerns of Beijing Pressure

Eva Fu
By Eva Fu
August 15, 2019Hong Kong
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Popular Store Chain Pulls Epoch Times Hong Kong Newspapers From Shelves, Drawing Concerns of Beijing Pressure
The Epoch Times Hong Kong newspaper is seen on the shelf outside a 7-Eleven store in Hong Kong on April 1, 2019. (Sarah Liang/The Epoch Times)

Hong Kong locals are voicing their concerns after a local franchise of the popular convenience store chain 7-Eleven decided to withdraw Epoch Times Hong Kong newspapers from its local stores beginning on Aug. 16.

7-Eleven licenses franchises around the world via partnerships with local brands. The Hong Kong franchise has no relation to the U.S.-headquartered company.

The Epoch Times’ Chinese-language newspaper was first founded in 2000 by a group of Chinese-Americans who wished to provide an independent source of news free from the Chinese regime’s influence.

In 2002, the Hong Kong bureau was established. For many years, it had been publishing a daily newspaper, distributed for free.

In April this year, the Hong Kong edition switched to a for-sale model and began selling its daily newspapers at 7-Eleven stores and newsstands across the city.

The Epoch Times Hong Kong entered into an 8-month renewable contract with 7-Eleven’s holding company Dairy Farm Company Limited in April, making 500 7-Eleven stores its chief distribution channel.

But on July 15, The Epoch Times Hong Kong abruptly received a formal letter from 7-Eleven notifying the publication that the papers would be completely removed from shelves in August, without including an explanation. Further requests to meet with the management received no response, according to The Epoch Times Hong Kong bureau.

Cheryl Ng, the spokesperson for the Hong Kong bureau of The Epoch Times, said that the decision was unreasonable and a deprivation of local readers’ rights to truthful information.

“This type of behavior is highly unusual in the business world, especially considering sales which had been well above the minimum target,” Ng said at a press conference in Hong Kong on Aug. 15.

Challenges

Ng said that since entering into the contract, the Hong Kong bureau has faced a series of stringent requirements from Dairy Farm, which owns the convenience store chain.

Two months after the newspapers appeared on 7-Eleven store shelves, Dairy Farm abruptly cut down the number of distributing outlets to 150, citing low sales volume. Choi Peng Chee, CEO of the Dairy Farm North Asia Region, stated that it was a “business decision” in an email exchange with The Epoch Times Hong Kong.

Contrary to Dairy Farm’s explanation, Ng said, sales of the papers have been far exceeding the targets.

Ng added that Dairy Farm’s actions were inconsistent, as the company pulled the newspapers from stores that were inside or near subway stations, where the papers had seen the highest sales.

According to Ng, the convenience store chain also prohibited the Hong Kong edition from prominently displaying the 7-Eleven name or logo to publicize its availability, whether in print or on its website, greatly constraining the publication’s ability to reach readers. In promotional materials, the newspaper was only allowed to use vaguely-worded phrases such as “available at convenience stores,” Ng added. This posed a challenge for readers old and new to locate the papers.

To inform readers of its new distribution channel, The Epoch Times Hong Kong staff resorted to standing near 7-Eleven stores to promote the paper.

“Due to these limitations … and … the fact that we were no longer distributing our papers freely on the street, the Epoch Times had virtually disappeared,” Ng said. She added that the newspaper reserves the right to take legal action for 7-Eleven’s apparent discrimination.

Both Dairy Farm and its UK-based parent company, Jardine Matheson, have not replied to requests for comment as of press time.

Press Freedom Threatened

Hong Kong critics and loyal readers have expressed regrets for the contract termination and suggested that the move was politically motivated.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on 7-Eleven Hong Kong to “reconsider their decision and not to yield to any pressure that they might have received or receive in the future.”

“We can’t see any reason but the pressure from the Chinese authorities for this withdrawal,” said Cédric Alviani, East-Asia bureau director at RSF, in a phone interview with Epoch Times Hong Kong. He said discontinuing The Epoch Times’ distribution from 7-Eleven stores was a loss of ”a positive element for the plurality of the media.”

Concerns have been mounting over the erosion of freedom of expression and civil liberties in Hong Kong since the territory’s transfer from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

In recent months, Hongkongers have taken to the streets every week since June, citing fears that a controversial extradition bill would be the final straw in Beijing’s encroachment over the city’s autonomy.

Ng said that the Epoch Times Hong Kong has been striving to provide an accurate picture of the protests from the frontlines.

Local activist and former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung lamented that the 7-Eleven cancelation would leave Hongkongers without an independent news source on the protests.

The Epoch Times Hong Kong has “allowed people to see more information and insights … it has for the past 10 years targeted the Chinese Communist Party and its suppression of different groups,” Leung said at the press conference. He added that he was a loyal reader of the paper himself.

He called Dairy Farm’s explanation for its decision “illogical” and “purely political,” noting that several local pro-Beijing newspapers, such as Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po, are sold at 7-Eleven stores without any hiccups. “How come 7-Eleven doesn’t bother them?”

Hong Kong-based China expert and former magazine editor Cai Yongmei also echoed Leung’s views. She said that the cancelation reflects the Chinese regime’s tightening grip on Hong Kong.

“They want to suppress Hongkongers’ protests … if you make business deals with Chinese companies, they will pressure you from this aspect,” Cai told the Hong Kong bureau of The Epoch Times, noting that Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flagship airline, recently dismissed several staff members who participated in recent protests amid Beijing pressure.

Leung added: “Hong Kong is undergoing a difficult time. The Epoch Times Hong Kong is a reflection of that. If they can be treated like this, other media can suffer even more pressure.”

Ng called on local business owners and individuals to be part of its distribution network and advance its circulation. She added that the publication “refus[es] to be silenced at this critical moment” and will continue to serve the public as a “testament of history” no matter the costs.

“Freedom is not free,” Ng said.

From The Epoch Times

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