Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen mourns Apple Daily closure, pledges support to Hong Kong's struggle for freedom

Geopolitics

Governance/Geopolitics

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 26 Jun 2021, 10:01 am Print

Apple Daily

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday expressed sadness over the closure of the Apple Daily and said her nation will continue to support freedom for Hong Kong.

"I’m deeply saddened by the forced shutdown of #AppleDailyHK. But despite this setback, I want to tell the people of #HongKong that #Taiwan will always stand with you in your struggle for freedom. Your dreams of democracy are the seeds of a better future for Hong Kong & the world," she tweeted.

Apple Daily shut down recently following a police crackdown.

Some 500 policemen raided the offices of pro-democracy paper Apple Daily in Hong Kong recently by alleging that the report published by it breached a national security law.

I’m deeply saddened by the forced shutdown of #AppleDailyHK. But despite this setback, I want to tell the people of #HongKong that #Taiwan will always stand with you in your struggle for freedom. Your dreams of democracy are the seeds of a better future for Hong Kong & the world. pic.twitter.com/HoxBFgRoAS
— è”¡è‹±æ–‡ Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) June 24, 2021

Police also arrested the editor-in-chief and four other executives at their homes. It also froze HK$18m ($2.3m; £1.64m) of assets owned by three companies linked to Apple Daily, reports BBC.

Jimmy Lai is the owner of the paper. He is currently in jail and facing several charges.

Apple Daily is known to be critical of the mainland Chinese leadership, reports BBC.

#AppleDaily #Taiwan #HongKong