Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, which saw its assets frozen as part of the government’s intensified crackdown on the pro-democracy paper, could be forced to cease operations in “a matter of days.”
Mark Simon, an adviser to the tabloid’s founder Jimmy Lai, told Reuters Monday that the paper is not able to conduct banking operations, and that money put into its accounts have bounced back.
“We thought we’d be able to make it to the end of the month. It’s just getting harder and harder. It’s essentially a matter of days,” Simon, formerly a senior executive at Apple Daily‘s parent company, Next Digital, said.
Bloomberg reported over the weekend that the publisher is running low on cash to continue printing its daily paper and paying staff. A person familiar with the matter said Apple Daily is looking to use its base in Taiwan to crowdfund donations online.
The paper is writing to the Secretary for Security to request that some of the company’s assets be unfrozen.
The fate of Apple Daily, Hong Kong’s biggest and most outspoken pro-democracy paper in the city, has been left hanging in the balance since Thursday’s events. Officers arrested five of the paper’s directors in the morning and conducted a raid at its headquarters on grounds that the media company violated the national security law.
Police said they had uncovered evidence—over 30 articles in both Chinese and English—suspected of requesting foreign countries to impose sanctions against Hong Kong and China.
Authorities also froze HK$18 million (US$2.32 million) of the tabloid’s assets, leaving the paper, which just celebrated its 26th anniversary, strapped for cash.
The company pays salaries to its 1,300 employees at the end of each month, and failure to do so could put it at risk of violating labor laws.
