Apple Daily could close ‘in a few days’ as Hong Kong’s economy cools | Freedom of the Press
The company’s adviser says that taking action in accordance with safety regulations means that it will not be able to raise $ 50 million in compensation to employees and retailers.
The Hong Kong-based democracy newspaper Apple Daily has been forced to close “within a few days” by government officials after implementing a national security law that China had imposed on the company’s assets by arresting the editor and four other editors, the arrested adviser said. Another young man Jimmy Lai told Reuters on Monday.
Mark Simon, a telephone operator from the United States, said the company had not been able to recover its funds and would hold a meeting on Monday to discuss progress.
“We thought we would get to the end of the month,” Simon told reporters. “It’s getting worse. It only takes a few days. ”
His opinion is that the closure is imminent even though Apple Daily reported on Sunday that the cold of its fortune had left the newspaper with money for “several weeks” to run smoothly. “
The case comes just two days after editor Ryan Law, 47, and senior Cheung Kim-hung, 59, were released on bail after being sentenced under a security law for foreign aid.
Three other officers were arrested last Thursday About 500 police officers stormed the newspaper’s offices on the issue of Western criticism, human rights groups and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The three were released on bail.
Simon told Reuters it was impossible to do banking.
“The merchants tried to deposit money into our account and were rejected. We can’t bank. Some retailers have tried to do this as good. We just wanted to get it and it was rejected, ”he said.
Very painful
My friend Mark Simon – whom I have known for over 20 years – talks about the closure of #AppleDaily, which I had the privilege of writing every week for the past year
The world needs to wake up and take action
This is not about a single newspaper
This is about freedom https://t.co/E6uPlC2f2C
– Benedict Rogers Rogers (@benedictrogers) June 20, 2021
In an earlier interview with US radio station CNN, Simon said the company had about $ 50 million, but was unable to raise funds.
The publisher has been under heavy pressure since its owner Jimmy Lai was arrested under a national security law last August, which was the first seizure of the company’s headquarters. Lai, 73, has now been arrested and is facing charges under national security law. In May, adults too cool other things Longtime Beijing opponents also retained his wealth.
Three companies affiliated with Apple Daily are also facing international charges and regulators have kept their assets of HK $ 18 million ($ 2.3 million).
China enacted a security law in Hong Kong last June saying it was necessary to restore “peace” to an area that had been disrupted by protests in 2019, some of which became violent.
The program of many rules It incurs crimes such as sedition, insurgency, alliances with foreign groups and secession and imprisonment, but opponents say they are being used to suppress political negotiations with more than 100 civil rights activists arrested since its inception.
