A Hong Kong court yesterday ordered the liquidation of Next Digital Ltd (壹傳媒集團), parent company of Apple Daily, delivering another blow to the pro-democracy newspaper after the local edition was shuttered in a crackdown on dissent.
Apple Daily closed down in Hong Kong earlier this year after its assets were frozen using a National Security Law that China imposed on the territory, but it continues to publish in Taiwan.
Its owner, media tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英), and multiple executives have been detained and charged with collusion for outspoken articles and columns the paper published.
Photo: AFP
In September, the Hong Kong government made the rare move of applying to dissolve Next Digital, saying it would be “expedient in the public interest.”
Hong Kong High Court judge Jack Wong (黃健棠) granted the government’s request after a brief hearing that was not contested by Next Digital.
It is unclear how the court order would affect Apple Daily’s edition in Taiwan, which continues to operate as a financially independent subsidiary. Next Digital’s Taiwan offices did not respond to requests for comment.
However, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) — which deals with China relations — issued a statement saying it was concerned that the liquidation of the parent company in Hong Kong could lead to “improper use” of Taiwan’s Apple Daily employee and news databases.
“If relevant parties try to stick their ‘black hands’ into Taiwan in an attempt to violate freedom and human rights, relevant agencies will take necessary actions in accordance with the law to protect public welfare and interests,” the statement said.
The government has criticized Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong and quietly allowed some residents, including a famous dissident book publisher, to resettle in Taiwan.
Lai, 74, and multiple Apple Daily executives face up to life in prison if they are convicted on charges of colluding with foreign forces for coming out in favor of sanctions against China.
Lai is already serving jail sentences linked to his attendance at democracy protests in recent years.
Questions remain over the future of Apple Daily’s Taiwan edition, after Bloomberg reported that the operation was strapped for cash and is to close before the end of the year.
Apple Daily Taiwan dismissed the report as “speculation” and said it had no further comment.
Local media reported that the court-appointed provisional liquidator for Next Digital has approached Apple Daily’s Taiwanese unit to ask about its assets.
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