Wah Kiu Yat Po, or Overseas Chinese Daily News (), was a Chinese-language newspaper based in British Hong Kong. It began with the Chinese version of The Daily Press in 1858. In 1925, the Chinese paper was eventually acquired by Shum Wai-yau (), a journalist, and the Shum family took control of the company. It was renamed to Wah Kiu Yat Po following the acquisition and published under that name until the press closed down in 1995.
History The newspaper was the successor of the Chinese version of The Daily Press, known as Heong-Kong Shun-Tow Fo-Kai Chi () in 1857. A year later, in 1858, it became a daily paper under the name Hongkong Chung Ngoi San Po () and its name was further shorten to Chung Ngoi San Po () around some time between late 19th and early 20th century. Later, it was published under the name Chinese General Merchants Daily () from 1919 to 1923 when the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and Daily Press co-owned the company. The contract later ended and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce published the paper on its own. In 1925, it was sold to Shum Wai-yau due to its high operating costs. It was renamed Wah Kiu Yat Po and began publishing on 5 June 1925.
In December 1941, the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began. Wah Kiu Yat Po was one of the few newspapers that were allowed to continue publishing. The newspaper used different writing strategies to pass censorship review by the Japanese military government and secretly convey anti-Japanese messages. On 1 April 1945, Wah Kiu Man Po () was founded. The last issue of the newspaper was on 1 April 1988.
In 1985, the founder Shum Wai-yau died. His son Shum Choi-sang was unwilling to keep running the newspaper. Therefore, in December 1991, the newspaper was sold to South China Morning Post. The Post sold it again in January 1994 to Heung Shu-fai, who improved its sales. However, it still closed down for financial reasons on 12 January 1995. Governor Chris Patten said he was very sad and that the paper had been famous for its integrity and commitment to community values.
And besides, the press also published Hongkong Yearbook () annually from 1948, reviewing the various aspect of life and business in Hong Kong and listing various businesses and organisations of the city.
Archives The Hong Kong Public Libraries keeps its archive online, with issues from 1947 to 1991, though some issues and pages omitted.
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