Hong Kong cultural figure Leung Man To’s paid Podcast program “Eight and a Half,” operated in Mainland China, was recently completely taken down, with its official account suspended. This incident is suspected to be due to his mention of the founder of Apple Daily, Jimmy Lai, who is currently imprisoned, in his program. Even voices considered “moderate” by the Chinese Communist Party are not tolerated, causing outrage among netizens.
At the end of July, China’s largest Podcast platform, Himalaya, suddenly removed all content from “Eight and a Half.” Leung Man To’s official accounts on various social media platforms were cleared of content, with only the smaller user base audio platform “Little Universe” still able to listen to his program.
According to reports from Hong Kong’s newspapers such as “Sing Tao Daily,” Hong Kong01, and “Lianhe Zaobao,” the reason for “Eight and a Half” being taken down is believed to be Leung Man To’s mention in an episode titled “Why do people miss Tsai Lan” in early July. He mentioned writing for Apple Daily, expressing gratitude to the chairman at the time, Dong Qiao, and the boss, “Jimmy (Jimmy Lai)” for their tolerance, while also criticizing the media’s style.
Jimmy Lai, the founder of Apple Daily, has been charged by the Hong Kong authorities with violating the National Security Law and has been detained for nearly 5 years. His case has recently entered the closing arguments phase.
At the end of July, Leung Man To told the media that he was informed his account could not publish new content for 15 days, expecting to resume as scheduled on August 6. Responding to Hong Kong01, he mentioned that such “temporary bans” on the platform are common in mainland China.
However, in August, “Eight and a Half,” which was briefly back on Himalaya, was taken down again. On August 20, the program was also removed from Little Universe. Leung Man To’s account for releasing the program was banned. Many paying users have received refunds for their program subscriptions, indicating that his program cannot be restored.
“Eight and a Half” was a paid program launched by Leung Man To in April 2023, with only two paid listening platforms in Mainland China, Himalaya and Little Universe. The takedown of Leung Man To’s program on both platforms also signifies that he has lost all legitimate broadcasting channels in Mainland China.
Furthermore, the similar program “Eight Minutes” hosted by Leung Man To has also been simultaneously removed from Himalaya and Little Universe.
Leung Man To is a well-known cultural commentator in Hong Kong, regularly writing articles in magazines or newspapers covering topics on freedom of speech and space, seen as a moderate different voice. He is known among netizens as “Dao Chang.”
On the overseas platform X, many netizens are discussing this issue. Some netizens pointed out that in his program, Leung Man To was not praising but criticizing Jimmy Lai and Apple Daily. Despite being cautious, he is still not spared.
One user commented, “Hong Kong has experienced so much, yet Leung Man To never mentions anything. It’s disappointing.”
“He has always been careful, but still not allowed.”
“I don’t really like watching his program, I find Leung Laoshi too compromising, I never expected this to be disallowed. Let’s cherish what’s coming in the future.”
“Hong Kong now and fifteen years ago seem like two different worlds.”
On account “Da Sheng,” a post on August 23 said, “Leung Man To’s podcast ‘Eight and a Half’ has been taken down, scan the code in the picture to continue listening. Sharing a comment: ‘His exit is by no means about not tolerating moderates, but the knowledge and escape from censorship that intellectuals and cultural figures have learned in this airtight environment are becoming more and more useless.'”