Hong Kong (AFP)
The main columnist for the pro-democracy Apple Daily, which was closed last week, was arrested Sunday evening by Hong Kong police as he was preparing to leave the territory, according to local media.
After the arrest of some of its officials and the freezing of its assets, the Apple Daily, which has never failed to sharply criticize the Chinese leaders, was forced to go out of business after 26 years of existence and published its last issue on Thursday, June 24.
Fung Wai-long, editor-in-chief and head of the daily's English-language columnists, is the seventh tabloid official to be arrested in the name of China's drastic national security law nearly a year ago.
Police confirmed that they arrested a 57-year-old man at the airport on charges of "conspiring to collude with foreign powers and forces".
She did not mention the name of Mr. Fung, who was signing under his pen name Lo Fung.
According to local media reports, he was taken into custody for investigation.
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Some 500 police officers raided the newspaper's editorial office on June 17 and five of its officials were arrested.
Two of them were charged with "collusion with foreign forces" over a series of articles calling for international sanctions against the Chinese leaders, and remanded in custody.
A few days later, columnist Yeung Ching-kee was arrested for the same facts.
However, he was released on bail.
The owner of the tabloid, newspaper mogul Jimmy Lai, is currently in custody, sentenced to multiple prison terms for his involvement in pro-democracy protests in 2019. He is also charged under the National Security Act, facts punishable by life imprisonment.
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In a statement released on Monday, the Hong Kong Journalists Association said recent events, including the fate of the Apple Daily, have almost "ended the freedom of the press" Hong Kong has enjoyed so far. Kong.
© 2021 AFP