China News Service, Hong Kong, June 17 (Reporter Wang Jiacheng) Hong Kong police arrested five top media officials on the 17th for violating the Hong Kong National Security Law.
When the police met with reporters, the police said that they found dozens of Chinese and English articles in the "Apple Daily" calling for foreign sanctions on the People's Republic of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which were published in physical newspapers and online media.
Senior Superintendent Li Guihua of the National Security Service of the Hong Kong Police said that the police launched operations in multiple districts at 6 o'clock in the morning, and a total of about 500 police officers were dispatched.
The action targeted the "Apple Daily" suspected of conspiring with others to request foreign institutions or individuals to impose sanctions on the People's Republic of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The picture shows the Hong Kong police raided Apple Daily.
Photo by Li Zhihua
During the operation, the police arrested a total of 4 men and 1 woman, aged between 47 and 63, on suspicion of "conspiracy to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security." The five persons were all directors of Apple Daily's entity or online business.
Li Guihua introduced that the police found that the "Apple Daily" had more than 30 articles since 2019 calling for foreign sanctions on the People's Republic of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
These articles are obviously the focus of the entire conspiracy plan to provide eloquence to foreign or overseas institutions for sanctions.
The arrested persons are all directors of Apple Daily Co., Ltd., which shows that they are very important to the operation of the company. Some people are the proprietors, publishers and editors of Apple Daily, so they are responsible for the content, style and publishing policy of the article.
In addition, Li Guihua said that the police applied to the court for a warrant to conduct searches in accordance with the implementation rules of the Hong Kong National Security Law, including the Apple Daily Building, and that the warrant also allowed the processing of news materials.
He also revealed that the assets of three companies including Apple Daily Co., Ltd., Apple Daily Printing Co., Ltd. and Apple Internet Co., Ltd. have been frozen in accordance with the law, involving 18 million Hong Kong dollars.
It is reported that the stock of Next Media was also suspended from 9 am on the same day, and the reason has not been announced yet.
Li Guihua said that police operations are still going on, including searches, and it is not ruled out that more people will be arrested.
(Finish)