Hong Kong Police Set Apple Daily Office As Crime Scene And Seize USD 2.3 Million In Assets

JAKARTA - Hong Kong police have designated the Apple Daily media office as a crime scene (TKP) after 500 police officers made arrests and seizures under the New Security Act.

Apple Daily said Thursday, June 17, Editor-in-Chief Ryan Law, Chief Executive Officer Cheung Kim-hung, Chief Operating Officer Chow Tat-kuen, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Chan Puiman, and Chief Executive Editor Cheung Chi-wai were arrested and charged with colluding with foreign troops to jeopardize national security.

The charges refer to the New Security Act introduced last year, which prohibits any activity related to sedition, secession, and subversion against Beijing.

"This case involves a conspiracy", Hong Kong's Secretary of Security John Lee told reporters, adding that the police attack was targeted at those who use journalism as a tool to jeopardize national security, cited from CNN,

Senior Superintendent Steve Li, from the police's national security department, said assets worth 18 million Hong Kong Dollars (USD 2.3 million) linked to the newspaper had been frozen. The assets are owned by three companies; Apple Daily, Apple Publishing & AD Internet Limited.

After the initial raid, Li said the headquarters of Apple Daily was now a crime scene, and officers had confiscated electronic devices, such as cell phones, computers, and laptops. In images published online by Apple Daily, police officers can be seen checking computers in the office.

Li said police were investigating Apple Daily for previous attempts to collude with foreign forces and external elements to jeopardize national security.

He explained that since 2019 Apple Daily has published articles calling on foreign countries to impose sanctions on the Chinese and Hong Kong governments. Li also urged the public not to repost the content.

"If you don't have a real reason to share this type of article, I would advise everyone not to", Li warned.

Li said Thursday's operation did not target the press, but an individual organization that violated the law, saying the Hong Kong government respects press freedom.

The arrests and investigations are the latest steps in an escalating crackdown on tabloid tycoon Jimmy Lai, who has been accused of being anti-Beijing and provocative.

Meanwhile, Lai, who for decades has become a symbol of Hong Kong's tensions with China, has faced charges under the New Security Act. He is currently serving a prison sentence for his role in an illegitimate assembly stemming from pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Separately, Hong Kong Authority Security Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu sought to quell press freedom concerns, saying the investigation was targeting acts that are not normal journalistic work.

"Please understand, our actions do not target journalistic work. We target perpetrators who use journalistic work as a tool to jeopardize national security measures", said Lee Lee.

To note, freedom of the press is a basic right guaranteed by the Hong Kong Constitution, the city's mini-constitution.