A pro-Democracy newspaper has been raided again, and the editorial team warns press freedoms in Hong Kong are under threat like never before.
Nine months after the Apple Daily newsroom was raided, hundreds of officers again swept the office and arrested five top executives under national security charges.
The paper and its jailed owner Jimmy Lai have long been a thorn in Beijing’s side with unapologetic support for the financial hub’s pro-democracy movement.
Five hundred police sifted through reporters computers and notebooks.
Hong Kong police said 500 officers raided the anti-government tabloid’s Tseung Kwan O office,, going through reporters’ documents and notes.
Apple Daily streamed the event live online.
Police raid the Apple Daily newsroom
Dawn operation
More than 500 officers conducted a dawn operation which authorities said was sparked by articles Apple Daily had published “appealing for sanctions” against Hong Kong and China’s leaders.
Pictures published by Apple Daily showed police sitting at reporters’ desks and using their computers.
A person streaming a live feed for Apple Daily’s Facebook page said reporters were prevented from accessing certain floors or getting their equipment or notebooks.
In a message to readers, Apple Daily warned Hong Kong’s press freedoms are “hanging by a thread”.
Police say at least 30 articles published in 2019 may have breached national security by calling for foreign sanctions against the Hong Kong government.
This is the first time where authorities said news articles could potentially violate the security law.
Supt Li, who heads the police force’s national security department, said Secretary for Security John Lee had issued an order to freeze HK$18 million worth of assets.
Five people were arrested and money seized during the raids.
After the raid, reporters returned to a semi-gutted newsroom with the paper saying 38 computers were taken away.
Five executives of Apple Daily and Next Digital – editor-in-chief Ryan Law, chief executive Cheung Kim Hung, Chief Operating Officer Chow Tat Kuen, Deputy Chief Editor Chan Pui Man and Chief Executive Editor Cheung Chi Wai were detained.
The raid is the latest blow to media tycoon Jimmy Lai, the tabloid’s owner and a staunch Beijing critic.
Security Secretary John Lee describes the newsroom as a “crime scene” and says the operation is aimed at those who use reporting as a “tool to endanger” national security.
“We are talking about a conspiracy in which these suspects try to make use of journalistic work to collude with a foreign country or external element to impose sanctions or take hostile activities against Hong Kong and … China,” Mr Lee said.
In Short:
– Trump ordered the Pentagon to resume nuclear testing, risking global tensions and retaliation from other nations.
– Proliferation concerns are rising as nuclear states modernise arsenals and the New START Treaty nears expiration.
US President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing immediately, aiming to align with testing programs from other countries according to the conversation.Resuming explosive nuclear tests would likely trigger retaliatory responses from nuclear-armed nations like Russia and China, worsening the arms race and increasing global risks.
The potential for worldwide radioactive fallout remains high, even for underground tests. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, signed by 187 states, prohibits such testing, yet the US remains a signatory without ratification, bound not to violate the treaty’s intent.
Nuclear weapon testing, once crucial for understanding weapon effects and military planning, has diminished. Since World War II, nuclear tests have largely focused on developing new designs. Significant environmental and health concerns led to a moratorium on atmospheric testing in the early 1960s and the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963.
Many countries, including the US, stopped explosive testing in the 1990s. Technological advancements allowed nations to develop nuclear weapons without the need for actual explosions.
Proliferation Risks
Nuclear proliferation continues, with all nine nuclear-armed states investing heavily in modernising their arsenals. This raises concerns about lowered thresholds for using such weapons.
Recent conflicts involving nuclear threats have escalated, and the number of nuclear weapons operationally available has begun to rise again. Russia has tested advanced nuclear weapons, while China is rapidly expanding its military capabilities.
The New START Treaty, which confines the nuclear capabilities of the US and Russia, is set to expire soon, with no successor treaty negotiations underway.
The Doomsday Clock has moved closer to midnight this year, highlighting the heightened dangers facing the world today.
Central banks ease rate cut hopes amid inflation and wobbling tech stocks; markets adjust to Fed’s new stance.
Central banks pull back on rate cut expectations as tech stocks wobble and inflation pressures persist. Markets adjust cautiously to the Fed’s new tone.