Editors of Hong Kong newspaper arrested under security law

Apple Daily editor-in-chief Ryan Law is escorted by police to a waiting vehicle outside the Apple Daily newspaper offices. Pic/AFP

Hong Kong police used a sweeping national security law Thursday to arrest five editors and executives of a pro-democracy newspaper on charges of colluding with foreign powers, the first time the legislation has been used against the press in yet another sign of an intensifying crackdown by Chinese authorities in the city long known for its freedoms.

Police said they had evidence that more than 30 articles published by Apple Daily played a ‘crucial part' in what they called a conspiracy with foreign countries to impose sanctions against China and Hong Kong.

Apple Daily said in a statement that the move left it ‘speechless' but vowed to continue its reporting.

The newspaper has long been one of the most outspoken defenders of Hong Kong's freedoms and in recent years has often criticized the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for walking back promises that the territory could retain those freedoms for 50 years after the former British colony was handed over to China in 1997.

The newspaper has thus found itself a frequent target. Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence after being convicted of playing a role in unauthorised protests in 2019, when Hongkongers took the streets in massive antigovernment demonstrations in response to a proposed extradition
law that would have allowed suspects to stand trial in China.

The legislation outlaws secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion and has been used to arrest over 100 pro-democracy figures since it was first implemented a year ago, with many others fleeing abroad.

Those arrested Thursday included Apple Daily's chief editor Ryan Law; the CEO of its publisher Next Digital, Cheung Kim-hung; the publisher's chief operating officer; and two other top editors, according to the newspaper.

Police also froze 18 million Hong Kong dollars (USD 2.3 million) in assets belonging to three companies linked to Apple Daily, said Li Kwai-wah, a senior superintendent at Hong Kong's National Security Department.

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