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The pro-democracy agency Hong Kong’s Apple Daily is about to close when its economy is frozen by the government, preventing it from operating.
This follows the arrest of two of his officers who were charged in accordance with strict Chinese security rules after raiding 500 police officers at Apple Daily offices on June 17. The owner of the paper, Jimmy Lai, has already been arrested.
Critics point out that this marks a slight decline in the freedom of the press in China, which was promised freedom of speech by providing the city from the UK to China in 1997.
The crisis, which was aimed at resolving the conflict that erupted during the 2019 anti-government protests, has spread to former journalists. But police are blaming Ryan Law, editor-in-chief of Apple Daily, for the first time for the law to be applied directly against journalists.
The newspaper has been repeatedly criticized by Chinese authorities, as it is one of the last papers with a strong anti-government editor.
The board of Next Digital, parent company Apple Daily, which met Monday, will make the final decision on whether to continue publishing on Friday. He plans to file a petition with the Hong Kong-based security office asking for a free transfer of funds to pay his employees, so that the company does not violate labor laws, Apple Daily reported.
Newspaper directors have been unable to find other ways to continue, says Mark Simon, Lai’s former senior adviser.
“Refunds will not work because banks are advised to refrain from making any payments. I have already heard from our friends who could not pay us, ”he said.
If the authorities reject the request, the final document will be published on Saturday and the website will stop working by midnight on Friday. Employees should be allowed to leave immediately without notice today, according to an inside statement made by the Financial Times.
“They [police] naked, completely destroying the final protection of journalists’ rights, ”a Next Digital reporter told FT.
Lawmaker and Law Digital’s Chief Cheung Kim-hung was banned from repatriating Saturday on national security charges. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit genocide in Hong Kong by publishing documents promoting this, police said.
Officials have also saved HK $ 18m (US $ 2.3m) from three companies affiliated with Apple Daily. Next Digital shares were still suspended Monday after announcing a suspension last Thursday.
John Lee, the security minister, has condemned the document for violence and said the police’s actions did not threaten the freedom of the press. “They are different from ordinary journalists,” he said last week. “Do not associate with them.”
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