Five editors and executives were arrested last week under the national security law brought in by the Chinese and its offices have been searched and more than $2 million of assets have been frozen.
The newspaper said its board of directors asked for the assets to be unfrozen so it can pay salaries and will meet again on Friday to decide if it has any future.
It comes as amid a crack down on dissenting voices as Beijing tightens control over the territory in what critics say is an erosion of freedoms it promised the city for 50 years when the former British colony was handed over to China in 1997.
Apple Daily has been outspoken in defending Hong Kong’s freedoms, and in recent years has often criticized the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for limiting the city’s democratic freedoms as well as constricting the rights of free speech and assembly not found on mainland China.
Last week, police identified over 30 articles published by Apple Daily they said played a “crucial” role in a conspiracy with foreign countries to impose sanctions against China and Hong Kong for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy.
The newspaper’s founder, media tycoon Jimmy Lai, was convicted earlier this year for his involvement in unauthorized assemblies and is currently in jail. Two of the five people arrested last week have also been charged with collusion with foreign countries.
The police operation against Apple Daily has drawn criticism from the U.S. and Britain, which say Hong Kong and Chinese authorities are targeting the city’s promised freedoms.
