Activists archive pro-democracy Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily on blockchain.

Following a national security probe, Apple Daily issued its last edition on Thursday. But Hong Kong activists took it from there and uploaded the publication’s articles on a distributed network, Reuters reported. 21-year-old Ho, an anonymous activist working in tech, started uploading Apple Daily articles on decentralized file storage platform ARWeave this week. Backed by investors like Andreessen Horowitz, the platform deploys a blockchain-like structure called blockweave to enable the permanent storage of files across a distributed network of computers. 

More than 4,000 Apple Daily articles have been uploaded on ARWeave.

Apple Daily is one of Hong Kong’s most vocal pro-democracy newspapers. It is known as the biggest critic of Hong Kong and Chinese leadership. Earlier, police froze the assets of several companies linked to Apple Daily. In addition, they arrested five executives, which led to the tabloid printing its final edition, shutting down its website, and erasing all its social media accounts on Thursday. “I’m not doing this because I love Apple Daily. It’s what needs to be done. I never thought that Apple Daily would disappear so quickly,” Ho noted.

Hong Kong fights government censorship with blockchain and crypto.

Hong Kong people have previously fought against government censorship using blockchain technology, archiving content by public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong through LikeCoin, a blockchain-based decentralized publishing infrastructure. The crypto and blockchain industry has become a symbol of greater freedom in the recent past, enabling people across countries to resist centralized powers by building decentralized networks that are essentially impossible to shut down. Apart from helping to resist state censorship, blockchain and cryptocurrency tech also empower people with financial freedom.