Hong Kong pro-democracy paper Apply Daily could close by the weekend, staff are told

Hong Kong’s last remaining opposition paper Apple Daily may be forced to shutter its operations and publish its last edition as soon as this Friday.

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong’s last remaining opposition paper Apple Daily may be forced to shutter its operations and publish its last edition as soon as this Friday if it is unable to get the approval of the government to unfreeze its assets to pay staff. An internal memo sent to employees on Monday, seen by ABC News, said that if management still doesn’t get access to the funds, no articles will be uploaded to the media outlet's digital platforms after 11.59 p.m. on Friday, meaning that the last newspaper could be published on Saturday morning. The government froze $2.3 million worth of assets owned by three companies linked to Apply Daily after arresting five executives under the Beijing-imposed national security law last Thursday. Editor-in-chief Ryan Law and four directors were detained on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces under the controversial national security law, which was imposed by Beijing last summer following the mass pro-democracy protests of 2019.