onsdag 23. juni 2021

Hong Kong's Apple Daily to Print Last Edition on Thursday

Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper said on Wednesday it will be shutting down operations following a raid on its headquarters by national security police and the arrests of several executives for "collusion with foreign powers." "The management of the Apple Daily have decided to stop operations immediately after midnight, out of concern for employee safety and manpower," the paper said in a report on its website on Wednesday.

"The last print edition of the newspaper will be published tomorrow (June 24), and the website will stop updating after midnight," the report said. «The Apple Daily would like to thank all of its readers, subscribers, advertisers and the people of Hong Kong for their love and support over the past 26 years. This is farewell.» The board of directors of the paper's parent company Next Digital had earlier announced that the paper would stop operations "no later than 11.59 p.m. on Saturday."

The announcement came after an op-ed writer widely known by his penname Li Ping, was arrested by national security police on Wednesday on suspicion of "collusion with a foreign power," under a draconian national security law imposed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Hong Kong from July 1, 2020.