Beijing Hits Out At Overseas Critics Of Apple Raid

The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong on Thursday hit out at foreign politicians and western media who have been critical of the police raid on the offices of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, and the arrest of five of its executives, including its editor-in-chief Ryan Law.

In a statement published on Thursday, it accused the politicians and media of making irresponsible remarks about the police action. It said no matter what tricks external intervention forces played, they could not shake SAR law enforcement and China's determination to safeguard national security.

The UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab and the EU have criticised the arrests. In a Twitter post, Raab said the national security law, imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing, was being used to target dissenting voices, not tackle public security. He said freedom of the press was one of the rights China had promised to protect in the Joint Declaration and it should be respected

Later, the EU said the police action further demonstrated how the national security law was being used to stifle media freedom and freedom of expression.

Police said the raid and the arrests were linked to newspaper articles calling for foreign sanctions. They said they would not rule out the possibility of further arrests.