Incident

China (Hong Kong): Apple Daily closes after its assets are frozen under the national security law

24 June 2021Hong Kong RSF 2026 rank: 140th of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

Apple Daily, Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy newspaper, printed its final edition after the government froze its parent company's assets and arrested its editors under the national security law imposed on the territory in 2020.¹²³

What happened

Apple Daily, a Hong Kong newspaper founded by media owner Jimmy Lai and known for its pro-democracy coverage, printed its final edition in June 2021 after Hong Kong police froze the assets of its parent company, Next Digital, under the national security law and arrested several of its senior editors. Lai himself had already been detained and was, as of a December 2021 report, serving a separate 20-month prison term related to a conviction for his part in unauthorized demonstrations, while also awaiting trial on national security and fraud charges. On December 28, 2021, Hong Kong's Department of Justice filed further conspiracy charges accusing Lai and six former Apple Daily executives, including former chief executive Cheung Kim Hung and former editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong, of printing seditious publications, a charge that could bring up to three years in prison on top of any national security sentence, which could reach life imprisonment.¹²³

Apple Daily remained closed and its former executives faced additional charges as of the report reviewed.¹²³

What reason was given

Stated justification
Not stated directly in the source reviewed; Hong Kong's security bureau, in a related statement about the sedition case, described Apple Daily's sister outlet Stand News as pursuing an editorial line it called intended to "smear and vilify" the authorities, a characterization the government applied to the wider media prosecutions of this period.¹²³

What changed for reporting

Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy newspaper stopped publishing entirely after twenty-six years, and several of its most senior editors faced prosecution that could carry sentences up to life imprisonment.¹²

Timeline

2021

24 June 2021

China (Hong Kong): Apple Daily closes after its assets are frozen under the national security law

Who acted

Name	Role in this incident	Office at the time
Carrie Lam	other	Chief Executive of Hong Kong

Outlets and journalists

Name	Kind	Relation
Apple Daily	outlet	affected
Cheung Kim Hung	journalist, Apple Daily	affected
Jimmy Lai	journalist, Apple Daily	affected
Ryan Law Wai-kwong	journalist, Apple Daily	affected

Sources

Hong Kong authorities file new charges against Jimmy Lai and six other Apple Daily executives in fresh media crackdownCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2021-12-29, reporting. Source record
Hong Kong pro-democracy paper Apple Daily to print last edition on ThursdayReuters, 2021-06-23, reporting. Source record
Apple Daily: Hong Kong pro-democracy paper announces closureBBC, 2021-06-23, reporting. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

Jimmy Lai was, as of the report, serving a 20-month prison term for his alleged involvement in unauthorized demonstrations and awaiting trial on national security and fraud charges.serving a 20-month prison term for charges related to his alleged involvement in illegal demonstrationsHong Kong authorities file new charges against Jimmy Lai and six other Apple Daily executives in fresh media crackdown, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-12-29.Claim 512, checked 2026-09-22.
Conviction on the existing national security charges could bring the defendants a sentence of life imprisonment.could face life in prisonHong Kong authorities file new charges against Jimmy Lai and six other Apple Daily executives in fresh media crackdown, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-12-29.Claim 513, checked 2026-09-22.
Hong Kong's Department of Justice filed conspiracy charges against Lai and six former Apple Daily executives for allegedly printing seditious publications.On December 28, 2021, Hong Kong's Department of Justice filed conspiracy charges against Lai and six former media executives for allegedly printing seditious publications.Hong Kong authorities file new charges against Jimmy Lai and six other Apple Daily executives in fresh media crackdown, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-12-29.Claim 573, checked 2026-09-22.

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 3 sources.

Status: in effect, as of 2026-09-22.

Country: Hong Kong (RSF 2026 rank: 140th of 180)
Where: Hong Kong
Level of government: National
Tactic: Licensing and closure of outlets
Stage: Silence (see the ladder)
Ladder note: A newspaper's assets were frozen and its senior editors charged with offenses carrying up to life imprisonment, ending publication entirely rather than a licensing dispute or fine.
Head of government at the time: Carrie Lam
Issue of the day: The closure followed Hong Kong's 2019 to 2020 pro-democracy protests and Beijing's imposition of a national security law on the territory in June 2020, which criminalized broadly defined acts of subversion and collusion with foreign forces.
Outcome: Sustained, 24 June 2021. Apple Daily did not resume publication and its former executives faced additional charges as of the December 2021 report reviewed.
Era: The 2020s

What we don't know

The source reviewed does not give the exact date of Next Digital's asset freeze or state the final outcome of the national security charges against Lai and the other executives.