After Jimmy Lai’s arrest last year, he said Beijing was venting its anger over US sanctions by targeting Hong Kong media and people. Li has written numerous comment pieces criticising government crackdowns on the pro-democracy movement and the media. He was later identified by Apple Daily as its lead opinion writer, who publishes under the name Li Ping. Police confirmed the arrest of a 55-year-old man in Tseung Kwan O district, “on suspicion of conspiring to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security”. The announcement on Wednesday followed the arrestof the paper’s lead editorial writer under the national security law. “Do not play cahoots with them, otherwise you will pay a hefty price.” “You should not collude with these perpetrators,” the security secretary, John Lee, told the city’s media. Hongkongers had flocked to newsstands following last week’s raid, buying more than five times the usual number of copies in support of the paper, despite warnings from the city’s security chief that citizens – and the industry at large – should distance themselves. “I have tens of thousands of words in my heart but I am speechless at this moment,” Ip Yut-kin, chairman of the paper’s parent company Next Digital, said. “Thank you for risking your life, risking arrest over the past two years, to report the truth for Hongkongers,” read one in a photo shared on social media.ĪFP reported staff planned to print 1m copies for the final edition.
Later in the afternoon supporters left laminated notes of thanks on the fence of Apple Daily. “The company thanks our readers for their loyal support and our journalists, staff and advertisers for their commitment over the past 26 years.”Īpple Daily Taiwan said it was a financially independent subsidiary and its operations and staff of about 500 were unaffected by the closure. In a statement on Thursday, Apple Daily said: “The board of directors of Next Digital Limited regrets to announce that due to the current circumstances prevailing in Hong Kong, Apple Daily in its print form will come to an end no later than the last edition on Saturday 26 June 2021 and the digital version will no longer be accessible no later than 11:59pm on Saturday 26 June 2021. The company said on Monday that without the release of the funds it would be unable to pay staff or operating costs and would be forced to close.Īpple Daily had already ceased its finance news, English-language service and nightly online broadcast, and on Wednesday its sister title, Next Magazine, also announced its closure. The paper and its activist founder, Jimmy Lai, had become symbols of the pro-democracy movement. Police also announced the prosecution of three companies, and froze HK$18m (£1.66m) in assets of Apple Daily Ltd, Apple Daily Printing Ltd and AD Internet Ltd, and locked accounts containing more than $500m. The accusations related to dozens of unspecified articles that police said called for foreign sanctions against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments. Hundreds of officers raided the newsroom, seizing journalistic materials. Last week, police arrested five executives, including the editor-in-chief, Ryan Law, and the chief executive, Cheung Kim-hung, who were later charged, accused of colluding with foreign or external forces to endanger national security. The government-linked Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, which owns the site, reportedly issued a notice of breach of lease notice to Apple Daily Printing Ltd, and initiated repossession procedures. 11:22 'Resist until the end': On the ground with Apple Daily, Hong Kong's pro-democracy newspaper - videoīy Wednesday evening, as staff worked on the final edition, authorities were already working to clear the building.
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