The Hong Kong offices of
Apple Daily were raided by over 200 national security officers on 10 August 2020, following the arrest of Lai the previous day for violations of the recently implemented
national security law. The arrests, coming amid Beijing's ongoing crackdown against many
pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong, drew condemnation from international governments and human rights groups. Lai and other arrestees reportedly faced charges of "foreign collusion", which included advocating for
foreign sanctions, based on the broad definitions of the national security law. Earlier in the week, the United States had placed sanctions on 11 high-profile Hong Kong officials involved in the city's democratic suppression. The police raid lasted nine hours, as the officers rifled through the business property and carted off 25 boxes of documents. The police
search warrant did not disclose what they were looking for in the headquarters. The police also brought Lai into the office for two and a half hours and
paraded him through the newsroom in handcuffs, an act possibly aimed at humiliating Lai and to silence the press. The raid was
live streamed by
Apple reporters. The streaming footage included a tense moment when the policed shoved an editor for questioning the boundaries of the search. Next Digital released a statement condemning the police raid and declared, "Hong Kong's press freedom is now hanging by a thread, but our staff will remain fully committed to our duty to defend the freedom of the press."
Police conduct Media access was restricted during the raid, with only media sources trusted by the police being allowed. During the police news conferences conducted to provide updates about the search, numerous news outlets including
Reuters,
Associated Press,
Agence France-Presse,
RTHK and
Stand News were barred. The media representatives allowed to remain were denied questions. Steve Li Kwai-wah, the Senior Superintendent from the new National Security Department, said they searched the area since one of the arrestees had an office on the assigned floor. Li also said the officers only "scanned" the materials to confirm their relevance to the case. Legal scholar
Johannes Chan later criticised the move, stating that even a quick scan jeopardised the
confidentiality in news reporting.
International response International communities responded to
Apple Daily's raid with condemnation, with global organisations highlighting the erosion of
press freedom in Hong Kong.
Amnesty International spoke against the
harassment of journalists, and called for all criminal charges related to the national security law to be dropped. The Asia Chapter of the
Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA-Asia) expressed their support for
Apple Daily, and urged Hong Kong's leaders to uphold the values of
free speech.
Keith Richburg, a journalism professor at the
University of Hong Kong, described the "frightening prospect" for journalists to operate under the national security law. Christophe Deloire, the Secretary General at
Reporters Without Borders, said that "the Hong Kong government clearly seeks to take down a symbolic figure of press freedom." The
Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) in Hong Kong was also critical about the police's obstruction of news coverage during the raid, raising worries about propaganda in the absence of press freedom. Activist groups in
Taiwan advocated for further international sanctions on Chinese government officials to support the arrestees. Government officials around the world condemned Lai's arrest and the police raid on
Apple Daily.
Tsai Ing-wen, the
president of Taiwan, expressed her disappointment over the continuous erosion of Hong Kong's human rights and democracy.
Mike Pompeo, the
United States Secretary of State, said that Beijing eviscerated Hong Kong's freedoms.
Aftermath After the raid, the executives at
Apple Daily vowed to resume their daily operations. The print run was later set at 550,000 printed copies. A social media campaign encouraging the public to buy the newspaper was launched, and received backing of activist
Joshua Wong, singer
Pong Nan, and lawmaker
Ted Hui.
Apple Daily also uploaded a live stream of their
print production process. On 11 August, the Tuesday newspaper was published with the front-page
headline declaring, "
Apple Daily must fight on." Tsang Chi-ho, the former presenter of satirical news show
Headliner, included a blank space in his regular column that simply said, "You can't kill us all." Many Hong Kong residents lined up overnight at newspaper vendors to buy the first printed copies. Readers also purchased the newspapers in bulk, distributing free copies around the city. On the day of the arrests, Next Digital's
shares originally fell by 16.7% to a record low of HK$0.075. An online campaign then emerged, which encouraged supporters to purchase stock in the company. Following the campaign, the stock experienced a 1100% gain over the next two days, reaching a record high in the past seven years. On Tuesday, the stock closed at HK$1.10 and became the third highest performer on the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange that day. On Wednesday, the shares fell over 40% after the
Securities and Futures Commission issued a warning about the high volatility. A probe by police into alleged market manipulation led to the arrest of 15 suspects on 10 September 2020. Lai was released in the early morning of 12 August after 40 hours in detention. Later that day, he arrived at the
Apple Daily newsroom, and was met with cheers from employees. He urged staff members to fight on, with the support of the Hong Kong people, and not let them down. ==2021 arrests and closure==