Apple Daily may shut down Hong Kong assets “within days” of press release News

The company’s adviser said the actions taken under the security law could not include $ 50 million in funds to pay employees and vendors.

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Apple Daily will have to close “within a few days” after authorities used China’s national security law to freeze the company’s assets when it arrested the newspaper’s editor and four other executives, a jailed consultant. Tycoon Jimmy Lai told Reuters on Monday.

Mark Simon, speaking by phone from the United States, said the company could not access its funds and would hold a committee meeting on Monday to discuss how to proceed.

“We thought we would be able to get to the end of the month,” Simon told the agency. “It’s getting harder and harder. It’s basically a matter of days. “

His comments indicated that the closure was near, although on Sunday Apple Daily’s asset freeze left the newspaper with enough money for “a few weeks” for normal operations.

News 47-day-old editor Ryan Law and 59-year-old CEO Cheung Kim-hung were denied bail for two days on charges of cooperating with foreign forces under the security law.

Three other senior officials were also arrested last Thursday 500 police officers searched the newspaper’s offices in a case that has led to the condemnation of Western nations, human rights groups, and the United Nations chief human rights spokesman.

All three have been released on bail.

Simon told Reuters it was impossible to conduct banking operations.

“Sellers tried to put money into our accounts and rejected it. We can’t bank. Some vendors tried to do this as a benefit. We just wanted to know and they rejected it, ”he said.

Absolutely heartwarming

I’ve known my friend Mark Simon for 20 years – talking about closure #AppleDaily, I have had the privilege of writing weekly for the past year

The world needs to wake up and act

It’s not the only newspaper

This is about freedom https://t.co/E6uPlC2f2C

– Benedict Rogers Rogers (@benedictrogers) June 20, 2021

Speaking to US news channel CNN, Simon said the company has about $ 50 million available, but has been unable to access the funds.

The publisher has come under increasing pressure since its owner Jimmy Lai was arrested under national security law last August, the first time he has entered the company’s headquarters. Lai, 73, is in jail and is on trial under national security law. In May, the authorities also he froze some assets A longtime critic of Beijing.

Three Apple-affiliated companies have also been charged with cooperating with a foreign country and authorities have frozen 18 million Hong Kong dollars ($ 2.3 million) in their assets.

China introduced a national security law in Hong Kong last June, saying it was necessary to restore “stability” in 2019 when the territory was shaken by mass protests, some of which became violent.

The the law of the broad word it criminalizes actions such as subversion, sedition, links to foreign forces, and secession for life imprisonment, but critics say the political debate is legitimate and used alongside dozens of pro-democracy politicians and activists among the more than 100 arrested. put into force.