Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper to close

After 26 years, Apple Daily will halt all Hong Kong operations at midnight Thursday after police arrested five editors and executives and froze $2.3 million in assets linked to the paper. Authorities allege the paper breached the national security law by colluding with foreign powers. The board of directors made the announcement Wednesday as it can no longer pay its 800 employees with its assets frozen.

What’s the significance of Apple Daily’s closure? Founded by pro-democracy activist and multimillionaire Jimmy Lai, Apple Daily is the only pro-democracy print newspaper in the city. It openly criticized Beijing and supported the democracy movement even as the Beijing-imposed national security law choked out Hong Kong’s freedoms. Authorities claim more than 30 articles from the paper called for foreign sanctions on Hong Kong and mainland China. Earlier Wednesday, Hong Kong police arrested Apple Daily’s top columnist, who writes under the pen name Li Ping, on suspicion of foreign collusion. The shutdown marks the end of Hong Kong’s freedom of the press.

Dig deeper: Read Erica Kwong’s report on the crackdown on Apple Daily.