Mark Pinkstone, Hong Kong's former chief information officer, said that the arrest of Apple Daily-related suspects has nothing to do with infringing on press freedom, as claimed by certain local and foreign media, but is simply a case of police investigating criminal acts.

He said that there was virtually no international press coverage when Taiwan province raided Next Digital's Taipei office and confiscated its copies in 2002. Criticizing the foreign media's and politicians' hypocrisy and double standards, Pinkstone stressed that foreign media are not in any position to interfere in Hong Kong affairs.

Along with the positive changes in the social and political environment, the atmosphere in campuses is also shifting toward a healthier direction.

To improve the learning environment in schools, which had degenerated into hotbeds for radical advocacy during the protest movement, authorities in February issued detailed guidelines and a curriculum framework of national security education.

Many schools also took the initiative to double their efforts in this area, launching various activities to improve students' awareness of national security. As part of the endeavor, hundreds of local students got the rare opportunity in late June to meet with the nation's leading scientists in the aerospace field, which is also a component of national security.

Back in 2019, some students in Hong Kong who are from the Chinese mainland had to quit school and move to Shenzhen to continue their studies because they feared being targeted on campus. Political leaflets were often distributed at schools in the city, and students were constantly radicalized to participate in the social unrest.