In Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai’s Next Digital Says It Has Been Forced to Close

Next Digital’s founder and controlling shareholder, Jimmy Lai, is in jail, charged with crimes that include violating the security law. In June, Hong Kong officials froze some of the company’s bank accounts, forcing its flagship newspaper, Apple Daily, to close. Several top editors and executives at Next Digital, besides Mr. Lai, have been charged with crimes.

Apple Daily, founded in 1995, was the leading pro-democracy voice in the Hong Kong media, frequently denouncing China’s ruling Communist Party and its allies in the local government. Its aggressiveness soon made powerful enemies for Mr. Lai, who was forced to sell off a clothing chain after the paper criticized a Chinese leader in print.

Under the national security law, which China imposed after a wave of pro-democracy protests in 2019 that challenged its rule in Hong Kong, Mr. Lai and his media empire quickly became a target.

Next Digital said it would have remained solvent had its bank accounts not been frozen. While it had faced advertising boycotts led by supporters of the Chinese government, Apple Daily was widely read, and it sold a million copies of its final edition. Next Digital’s stock, which was suspended from trading in June, had soared at times over the past year, as supporters of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy cause bought shares to show support for the company.

Next Digital noted that it had been forced to close before any of the cases against its senior figures had gone to trial. Its supporters have argued that the actions taken against Next Digital and its publications not only harm media freedom in the city, but also damage property rights and Hong Kong’s reputation as a good place to do business.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/05/business/next-digital-jimmy-lai-hong-kong.html