Three companies linked to the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper have become “prohibited organisations” after the Hong Kong government removed them from the corporate register.
The government said on Tuesday that Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited and AD Internet Limited were removed from the Companies Register at the behest of acting chief executive Eric Chan and the Executive Council, the city’s highest decision-making body.
“The Registrar of Companies has removed the three companies associated with Apple Daily from the Register of Companies and upon publication of notice in the Gazette, the companies will be dissolved and become ‘prohibited organisations’,” it said in a statement.
The announcement was made on Tuesday.
All three firms were tried and convicted along with Apple Daily founder, media mogul Jimmy Lai, in his high-profile national security case. Lai was sentenced to 20 years behind bars while the firms were each fined HK$3,004,500.
The deregistrations were carried out under a national security law imposed by Beijing and an ordinance governing the closure of companies in the city.
“Whether before or after the HKNSL, (Jimmy) Lai Chee-ying used the Apple Daily platform to publish seditious articles and urged foreign countries to impose sanctions or blockades, or engage in other hostile activities against China and Hong Kong,” a government spokesman said.
“The senior management of Apple Daily was fully aware of Lai Chee-ying’s intention and provided support by executing his editorial instructions,” the spokesperson added.
Any person who acts for a banned organization or provides any assistance to them will be liable to a maximum fine of HK$1 million and 14 years in prison, the government spokesman said, citing Article 23. the city’s local national security law.
Founded in 1995, Apple Daily was forced to close in June 2021 after authorities raided its headquarters, arrested senior staff and froze its assets.
Six former Apple Daily executives were jailed along with Lai for up to 10 years. Two of them, Fung Wai-kong and Lam Man-chung, have filed a complaint.
The jailing of the media mogul and his staff has drawn international criticism. The head of the United Nations for human rights, Volker Turk, expressed regret for the 20-year prison sentence was delivered to Lai, demanding that the decision be “rescinded forthwith”.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong officials and lawmakers have praised the prison sentence. Chief Executive John Lee said Lai “he deserves his punishment”, adding that the tycoon had “committed numerous heinous crimes and his evil deeds were immense”.
