HK political, legal experts back Apple Daily arrests

Hong Kong political and legal experts on Friday threw their weight behind police's arrests of five people in charge of local tabloid Apple Daily, stressing that no one should be above the law.

Their remarks came after the Hong Kong police arrested on Thursday morning five executives of Apple Daily or its parent company Next Digital, for allegedly conspiring to invite foreign sanctions against the city and the nation through its publications.

The five arrestees are Apple Daily Editor-in-Chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong, Next Digital CEO Cheung Kim-hung, Next Digital Chief Operating Officer Chow Tat-kuen, as well as the paper's Deputy Chief Editor Chan Pui-man and Chief Executive Editor Cheung Chi-wai.

They held important positions in the company's operations and were fully responsible for the publishing of articles in the newspaper that invited foreign sanctions against the city and the country, Steve Li Kwai-wah, senior superintendent of the National Security department of the police, said when briefing the media on Thursday.

Barrister Lawrence Ma Yan-kwok said the police's action has legal basis and is totally lawful. Any rights and freedom conferred by the Basic Law are not absolute and should conform to the law, he said.

Noting that the rule of law is the core value of the city, Maggie Chan Man-ki, founding president of the Small and Medium Law Firms Association of Hong Kong, said that all institutions and individuals in Hong Kong have the legal responsibility to safeguard national security and act in accordance with the law, which is crucial to the long-term prosperity and stability of the city.

Following the arrests, some Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have urged the release of the five.

Leung Chun-ying, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said the US and the UK are in no position to criticize the police's lawful action as many cases have proven that press freedom is not absolute in these countries, especially when national security is involved.

"No one is above the law. No one is above national security laws. This applies to the press and is part of the definition of press freedom. Anyone who has any doubt about this universal principle could test it against the US or British authorities," Leung said in one of his social media posts.

With great freedom enjoyed by Hong Kong people comes great responsibility to protect national sovereignty and development interests, he said.