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US President Joe Biden blamed Beijing for Apple Daily closing. Photo: Bloomberg

Beijing hits back after US President Joe Biden blames its ‘intensifying repression’ for closure of Apple Daily

  • US leader calls loss of tabloid-style newspaper ‘a sad day for media freedom in Hong Kong’
  • Chinese foreign ministry spokesman calls Biden’s remarks ‘completely groundless’ and says there are ulterior motives behind any criticism
Beijing’s foreign ministry has accused President Joe Biden of “interfering in Hong Kong affairs on the pretext of press freedom”, after the US leader blamed it for the closure of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily newspaper.

On Thursday, the city’s residents flocked to buy copies of the tabloid-style publication’s final edition, a week after police arrested five of its top executives under the national security law.

Two of the group, editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong and publisher Cheung Kim-hung, were later charged with conspiring to collude with foreign forces and remanded in custody. The newspaper’s lead opinion writer was also arrested on Wednesday, and released the day after.

Authorities froze accounts and assets worth HK$18 million (US$2.32 million), which left the management of parent company Next Digital struggling to continue operations.

The newspaper, in its last edition on Thursday, reported that founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying “fully understood” the decision to shut down operations as he had left the company’s fate in the hands of management.

Biden called the loss of Apple Daily “a sad day for media freedom in Hong Kong and around the world”.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Photo: Kyodo

In a statement issued on Thursday, he added: “Intensifying repression by Beijing has reached such a level that Apple Daily, a much-needed bastion of independent journalism in Hong Kong, has now ceased publishing.

“Through arrests, threats and forcing through a national security law that penalises free speech, Beijing has insisted on wielding its power to suppress independent media and silence dissenting views.”

The US president also called Beijing’s encroachment on Hong Kong’s autonomy a violation of its “international obligations”.

His comments followed a statement by the European Union a day earlier that said the closure “seriously undermines media freedom and pluralism, which are essential for any open and free society”.

Hong Kong’s forbidden fruit: the rise and fall of Apple Daily

At the Chinese foreign ministry’s press conference on Friday, spokesman Zhao Lijian described Biden’s remarks as “completely groundless”.

“Hong Kong is a society of the rule of law, everyone is equal before the law,” he said. “We firmly support the government and police’s effort in safeguarding national security and Hong Kong’s stability.”

Zhao also said the security legislation protected the rights and freedoms of most of the city’s residents.

“There are ulterior motives if one is saying that there was a crackdown on press freedom, simply because a case involves a news organisation, or people responsible for an individual news organisation.”

In a statement, the Chinese foreign ministry’s Hong Kong office also urged the White House to stop interfering in the city’s affairs.

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Hong Kong tabloid Apple Daily ceases operations after top executives arrested, assets frozen

Hong Kong tabloid Apple Daily ceases operations after top executives arrested, assets frozen

A spokesman for the office said Washington had groundlessly accused the central government and the city’s administration for suppressing media freedom, attacking the national security law for the city, and smearing the policy of “one country, two systems”.

“The national security law … enshrines principles of rule of law including safeguarding human rights, addresses the most pressing and prominent risks facing national security in Hong Kong,” he said.

“Press freedom should not be exploited as an excuse for criminal activities, still less a fig leaf for acts to destabilise Hong Kong and China at large.”.

The spokesman urged the US to respect the facts and the rule of law, cease distorting one country, two systems, and stop vilifying the central government’s policy on Hong Kong.

Beijing’s liaison office in the city also responded to what it said was accusations from “American and Western politicians”. It said Apple Daily had spread fake news and endangered national safety, claiming its closure was met with widespread celebration among the public.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Beijing hits back as Biden blames ‘repression’ for Apple Daily closure
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