Police from Hong Kong’s national security department confirmed on Wednesday the arrest of a former editor of the disbanded newspaper Apple Daily.
In a statement the force said they had arrested a 51-year-old male for alleged “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.”
Apple Daily was forced to close last month, after its assets were frozen in conjunction to continued investigations into its owner Jimmy Lai, currently in jail without bail, on the same charges.
Thousands queued across the city to purchase its final edition on June 24, in a display of support for the paper, which has used its platform to criticize the Hong Kong government and Beijing.
Local media named the arrested executive editor as Lam Man-chung, who is the fifth senior editor accused of calling for foreign sanctions against mainland officials in Hong Kong.
Since April, the government has waged a educational promotion campaign about the security law in schools and across industries, with children as young as three given lessons on the law via games and quizzes led by security police.
On Monday, school principals appealed to Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam to find out why so many students are leaving the city.
Lam responded by dismissing fears of a mass exodus and said that plans to expand Hong Kong into the Greater Bay Area – which includes over 10 southern Chinese cities and the national security law, ensure a “prosperous future.”
British officials estimate that 300,000 Hong Kongers will arrive over the next five years.
