HK’S pro-democracy tabloid to shut down days after raid

The pro-democracy Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily looked set to close for good by Saturday following police raids and the arrest of executives - a move that rights groups say would undermine the city's reputation as a free and open society as Beijing tightens its grip. An adviser to the jailed owner and staunch Beijing critic Jimmy Lai told Reuters on Monday the newspaper would be forced to shut “in a matter of days”.

In an internal memo to staff seen by Reuters, the Apple Daily said: “The Board will decide on Friday whether (the company) will continue to operate... If the board decides not to continue to operate on Friday, online will stop uploading at 23:59 pm on the day, newspaper will cease operation after publishing the June 26 edition.” Apple Daily and Next Digital management could not be reached for comment.

Owned by Lau’s Next Digital, Apple Daily is a popular tabloid founded 26 years ago that mixes pro-democracy discourse with celebrity gossip and investigations of those in power. It has been a strong critic of the Hong Kong and Beijing governments.

Police raided the newspaper last week in a national security investigation in which senior executives were arrested for alleged “collusion with a foreign country” and assets of three firms linked to the newspaper were frozen. Late on Monday, Hong Kong media reported that Apple Daily and its online edition would cease operations by Wednesday as most employees had resigned.