Hong Kong’s Apple Daily to decide Monday on shutting down paper

Copies of Next Digital Ltd.'s Apple Daily newspaper at a news stand in Hong Kong, China on June 20, 2021. - Bloomberg

HONG KONG (Bloomberg): The board of Next Digital Ltd., which publishes Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, will meet on Monday (jUNE 21) to decide whether to shut down the pro-democracy newspaper, according to a top adviser to owner Jimmy Lai, after police arrested top editors and froze its bank accounts.

Hong Kong national security officials are blocking the newspaper’s bank accounts, and it may need to close its print and digital operations unless authorities allow access to the funds, said Mark Simon, a top adviser to Lai.