"Hong Kong's Apple Daily Likely to Cease Publication on the 26th"... Unable to Withstand Pressure from Chinese Government

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Hong Kong's representative anti-China media outlet, Apple Daily, is expected to cease publication after the issue on the 26th, according to reports from Hong Kong media. It is known to be undergoing the process of closure as its assets have been frozen under strong pressure from Chinese authorities.

On the 22nd, Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily reported that the board of directors of Next Digital, the parent company of Apple Daily, will decide the date to stop publication at a meeting on the 25th. According to major foreign media, the Next Digital board agreed to suspend Apple Daily's operations on that day, and if the board makes the final decision to halt operations on the 25th, publication will cease after the 26th. Taiwan's Central News Agency also cited attendees of the Next Digital board meeting, reporting that the closure crisis was caused by asset freezes and lack of operating funds due to pressure from Chinese authorities.

The previous day, Apple Daily stated that due to the asset freeze, only enough operating funds to last a few weeks remain, and they plan to request the security authorities to unfreeze some of the frozen assets to pay employees' salaries.

On the 17th, the Hong Kong Police Force's National Security Department, responsible for the Hong Kong National Security Law, announced that they deployed 500 police officers to raid Apple Daily's headquarters and froze assets worth 18 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately 2.6 billion KRW). At the same time, five senior Apple Daily officials were arrested at their homes. Among them, Ryan Law, the editor-in-chief of Apple Daily, and one other person were charged under the Hong Kong National Security Law for colluding with foreign forces.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.