Apple Daily executives hold national security office in HK court | New protests in Hong Kong

Two newspaper officials accuse them of joining foreign powers for sounding the alarm about media freedom in the financial center.

Crowds gathered outside the Hong Kong courthouse on Saturday morning for two executives of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper over the city’s widespread national security legislation in a lawsuit that has sparked international condemnation.

Ryan Law, editor-in-chief, 47, and Cheung Kim-hung, 59, Among the five Apple Daily executives arrested on Thursday, 500 police officers entered the store’s editorial office, authorities said it was a “crime scene.”

They both arrived in a police van before being heard.

Both are accused of joining foreign powers, as alarms have been raised about media freedom in the financial center as authorities intensify repression under conflict law.

The other three, Chief Operating Officer Chow Tat-kuen, Deputy Editorial Director Chan Puiman and Chief Executive Officer Cheung Chi-wai, were released on Friday, according to the Apple Daily.

“I already left Apple Daily for security and personal reasons,” said Chan, a 37-year-old former Apple Daily reporter.

“I hope the two defendants can think of themselves as soon as possible. They also have their families. I used to work with them before. We’re like friends.”

‘Don’t be afraid, fight’

The National Security Act imposed by Beijing on the former British colony in 2020 has set an authoritarian tone for most aspects of Hong Kong life, including education and the arts.

Beijing generally punishes what it calls secession, subversion, terrorism, and inter-life imprisonment with foreign forces.

Police said dozens of articles in the newspaper were suspected of violating national security law – the first time they mentioned that media articles could be against the law.

Crowds gathered Saturday morning outside the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, with some wearing yellow umbrellas or wearing Apple Daily T-shirts, “Don’t be afraid, fight.”

.@appledaily_hk CEO Chung Kim-hung and editor-in-chief Ryan Law arrived at the police escort. They are both accused #NSL conspiracy to unite with foreign forces.

Associate publisher Chan Pui-man, arrested on the same charge, heard the judge as the first public. pic.twitter.com/TEpIXU074r

– Galileo Cheng (@galileocheng) June 19, 2021

“Right now, you may be charged NSL for a word or speech you don’t like. It’s a big regression, ”said Lo, a 29-year-old reader of the popular 26-year-old paper.

The arrests and size of the Apple Daily network have been criticized by Western nations, global rights groups, press associations and major UN human rights spokesmen.

Apple Daily and its publisher Next Digital have come under increasing pressure from owners, Activist and hard-working pro-democracy critic Jimmy Lai Beijing, was arrested under the law last year.

Lai, whose assets are frozen under security law, is already in jail for attending unauthorized assemblies and awaiting trial in his national security case.

As investigations into Apple Daily and its top executives escalate, some employees and observers have expressed deep concern about the newspaper’s future.

Since Beijing enacted the law in June last year, more than 100 people have been arrested, most of whom have been denied bail.