Apple Daily journalist is arrested at Hong Kong airport as he tries to flee to Britain as China's crackdown on free speech continues

Hong Kong police have arrested the lead opinion writer of Apple Daily on national security grounds as he tried to flee the city for the United Kingdom.

The arrest of Fung Wai-kong on Sunday night comes days after the pro-democracy newspaper was forced to shut down.

An unapologetic backer of Hong Kong's democracy movement, Apple Daily put out its last edition on Thursday after its top leadership was arrested and its assets frozen under a national security law China imposed on Hong Kong last year. 

Fung, managing editor and chief opinion writer for the paper's English website, is the seventh senior Apple Daily figure to be detained under the law.

Hong Kong police confirmed the arrest of a 57-year-old man at the airport for 'conspiring to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security.'

They did not name Fung, who wrote under the pen name Lo Fung, but local media reported that he has been detained for investigation. Hong Kong police do not typically name arrested people.

The crackdown on Apple Daily, a popular tabloid, was sparked by articles and columns that allegedly supported international sanctions against China, a view now deemed illegal under the security law.

Hong Kong police have arrested the lead opinion writer of Apple Daily on national security grounds as he tried to flee the city for the United Kingdom, local media reported. The arrest of Fung Wai-kong on Sunday night comes days after the pro-democracy newspaper was forced to shut down. 

An unapologetic backer of Hong Kong's democracy movement, Apple Daily put out its last edition on Thursday after its top leadership was arrested and its assets frozen under a national security law China imposed on Hong Kong last year. Pictured: Copies of the final edition of Apple Daily are handed out to supporters on June 24

In the last two weeks, police have raided the Apple Daily newsroom, seized computers and servers and arrested five senior executives. Pictured: Some of the 500 police who raided Apple Daily gather outside the paper's headquarters on June 17

Authorities say dozens of the paper's articles may have violated a China-imposed national security law, the first instance of authorities taking aim at media reports under the legislation.

Critics of the law, introduced last June, say it has been used to stifle dissent and erode fundamental freedoms in the former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Authorities say the law has restored stability after months of often-violent pro-democracy protests.

In the last two weeks, police have raided the Apple Daily newsroom, seized computers and servers and arrested five senior executives. 

Jimmy Lai, Apple Daily's owner and an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, is currently in jail for attending a pro-democracy demonstration and also faces national security charges.

Apple Daily was forced to close after authorities froze its assets, crippling its ability to conduct business or pay staff.

Its sudden death is just the latest blow to Hong Kong's freedoms, deepening unease over whether the city can remain a media and cultural hub.

It comes as Hong Kong authorities crack down on dissent in the semi-autonomous city, arresting most of the city's prominent pro-democracy figures and revamping Hong Kong's election laws to keep opposition voices out of the legislature. 

Fung, managing editor and chief opinion writer for the paper's English website, is the seventh senior Apple Daily figure to be detained under the law. Hong Kong police confirmed the arrest of a 57-year-old man at the airport for 'conspiring to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security.' They did not name Fung. Pictured: Fung is escorted from the Apple Daily headquarters following the June 17 raid File

Pictured: Mike Hui, an Apple Daily photojournalist, waves goodbye to friends and family as he leaves Hong Kong for England on May 21 following the arrest of five of the paper's top editors and executives File

In a statement on Monday, the Hong Kong Journalists' Association said recent events including the targeting of Apple Daily have almost 'completely ruined the freedom of press' in the city. 

China imposed its security law on Hong Kong last June after the city was convulsed in 2019 by huge and sometimes pro-democracy protests, which were sometimes violently put down by law enforcement.

Nearly 60 people have now been charged under the law, including some of the city's best-known democracy activists.

Officials in Hong Kong and China have repeatedly said media freedoms are respected but not absolute, and cannot endanger national security. Police have said the actions against Apple Daily were not targeting the media industry as a whole. 

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that criticism of the raid on the newspaper amounted to attempts to 'beautify' acts that endangered national security. Chinese officials have denounced the criticism as interference. 

Fung's arrest also comes as pro-democracy online news outlet Stand News said in a statement that it would remove commentaries published on its site before June and halt its fundraising efforts because of concerns over the sweeping national security law.

The measures were taken to protect the news outlet's supporters, writers and editorial staffers in the 'literary inquisition' of Hong Kong, Stand News said in a statement.

Despite the precautionary measures taken, Stand News pledged to keep reporting the news.

Fung's arrest comes as Hong Kong authorities crack down on dissent in the semi-autonomous city, arresting most of the city's prominent pro-democracy figures and revamping Hong Kong's election laws to keep opposition voices out of the legislature. Pictured: A protest against the closure of Apple Daily in London on Sunday

Apple Daily's sudden death is just the latest blow to Hong Kong's freedoms, deepening unease over whether the city can remain a media and cultural hub. Pictured: A protest against the closure of Apple Daily in London on Sunday

In a statement on Monday, the Hong Kong Journalists' Association said recent events including the targeting of Apple Daily have almost 'completely ruined the freedom of press' in the city. Pictured: A protest against the closure of Apple Daily in London on Sunday

'In the past six and a half years, the Stand News team has been through trials and hardships with the people of Hong Kong, cherishing each other and weaving the common memory of Hong Kong's survival,' it said in a statement. 'To pass on these memories, we will stick to our posts, walk with the people of Hong Kong . and write and record the news and happenings in Hong Kong.'

The online news platform also said it would stop taking money from subscribers and donors and stop accepting new subscriptions to prevent the risk of money going to waste. Under the national security law, assets can be frozen if authorities believe the money is linked to a related crime. 

Stand News, founded in 2014, said most of its directors, including barrister Margaret Ng and singer Denise Ho, had stepped down.

Two founding directors, Tony Tsoi and chief editor Chung Pui-kuen, would remain, it added.

Meanwhile, police on Monday banned rallies to mark the 24th anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China. 

The gatherings were curtailed under public health concerns, according to documents seen by AFP news agency, for the second year running.

The applicants, including three pro-democracy groups TWS Connection, Save Lantau Alliance and League of Social Democrats, said they would appeal the ban.