[ad_1]
By Sara Cheng and Clare Jim
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam hit back Tuesday against criticism of authorities’ actions against pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily as attempts to embellish acts endangering national security.
Hundreds of police raided the newspaper last week as part of a national security investigation in which senior Apple Daily executives were arrested on allegations of collusion with a foreign country and 18 million Hong Kong dollars ($ 2.3 million) in frozen assets.
Police said dozens of articles in the Apple Daily may have violated the security law, with authorities’ first instance targeting news articles under the law.
Rights groups, media organizations and Western governments criticized the actions and expressed concern over press freedom and other rights in the Chinese-ruled city.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was deeply concerned about the selective and politically motivated use of the security law.
Speaking at his regular weekly press conference, Lam highlighted the US comments, telling reporters the accusations were wrong and applied double standards. She said the measures taken by the authorities were not aimed at freedom of the press.
Don’t try to downplay the importance of breaking the national security law, Lam said. Do not try to embellish these acts endangering national security.
And don’t try to accuse the Hong Kong authorities of using the National Security Act as a tool to suppress the media or to stifle free speech, she added.
On Monday, Mark Simon, adviser to jailed Apple Daily owner and Beijing critic Jimmy Lai, told Reuters the outlet would be forced to shut down within days.
Editor-in-chief Ryan Law and chief executive Cheung Kim-hung were charged with conspiracy to collude with a foreign country and were deprived of bail on Saturday. Three other senior executives have been released pending further investigation.
Apple Daily has come under increasing pressure since Lai was arrested last year under the law. Lai, whose assets have also been frozen under the security law, is already serving a prison term for participating in unauthorized rallies.
According to an internal memo seen by Reuters, the tabloid is expected to close permanently by Saturday.
(Reporting by Sara Cheng and Clare Jim; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
[ad_2]
picture credit