China News Service, Hong Kong, June 17-The Central People’s Government’s Liaison Office in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong Liaison Office) issued a statement on June 17, stating that the Hong Kong police said that the five directors of Apple Daily were suspected of “conspiring to collude with foreign countries or “The crime of endangering national security by foreign forces” took an arrest. The Security Bureau of the Special Administrative Region Government has frozen the assets of three companies including Apple Daily Co., Ltd. in accordance with the law.
The Liaison Office of the Hong Kong Central Committee firmly supports the just actions of the SAR government and the police to strictly enforce the law, and firmly supports all efforts to maintain national security and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability.
The statement emphasized that the Basic Law guarantees that Hong Kong residents enjoy the freedom of speech, news, and press, but any right and freedom are not borderless and cannot break through the bottom line of national security. This is also the express provisions of relevant international conventions and the general practice of laws in various countries.
Hong Kong is a society under the rule of law. Everyone is equal before the law. There is no exception, including media organizations. Freedom of the press is not a "shield" for illegal activities.
Anyone who violates the Hong Kong National Security Law and related laws will be severely punished by the law, regardless of his professional status and background, regardless of the support behind him.
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