Reporters try to flee Hong Kong

Hong Kongers at the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily are desperate to flee to Australia, but can’t get around our border ban.

Hong Kongers at the soon-to-be shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily are desperate to flee to Australia, but cannot get around the Morrison government’s border ban.

One of their former colleagues told The Australian many staff at Apple wanted to escape the Beijing-authored crackdown on political dissent in the city, which is ramping up ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th birthday celebrations on July 1.

“They are all under threat – if they are associated with the newspaper they could be charged with conspiracy,” Jane Poon, 56, told The Australian.

She said some had enrolled in Australian universities and would like to then settle in the country but were unable to enter because of the now 15-month long ban on non-citizens or permanent residents.

“Australia is just like a fortress.”

Following a mass departure of staff on Monday, Apple’s final edition could be as soon as Wednesday – although a skeleton staff may release another edition on Thursday or even Friday.

The hasty end of the rambunctious, often politically incorrect pro-democracy tabloid follows a raid by 500 Hong Kong police last Thursday.

Apple Daily’s chief editor Ryan Law and chief executive Cheung Kim-hung were both ­arrested and charged with conspiracy to ­commit collusion with a foreign country.

The 73 year old media mogul Jimmy Lai – who founded the paper 26 years ago – is in jail serving multiple 14-month sentences, with further charges possible.

Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday defended the dramatic use of the city’s sweeping national security law, less than a fortnight before its one year anniversary.

“You can’t say that just because the suspected organisation is a newspaper organisation and suspected people are executives from a newspaper organisation that our actions undermine press freedom,” she said.

The raids were accompanied by the freezing of $US2.3m ($3.1m) of Apple’s assets, which Mr Lai’s American-based adviser Mark Simon said made running the paper impossible.

“We can’t bank,” he told Reuters.

Thousands of Hong Kongers have left the city since the new security law was imposed, most to the UK which has kept its borders open and created a path to residency for those leaving the former British colony.

Canada – another favoured destination – has allowed Hong Kongers to enter if they are enrolled at a university course.

Australia has been closed to those without citizenship, permanent residency, or a resume that would allow them to use the federal government’s Global Talent Visa Program for targeted, highly skilled workers.

Former Hong Kong politician Ted Hui was a rare exception after the federal government granted him a travel exemption to enter in March.

“If an Apple Daily journalist walked into my office, I would have to tell them that I can’t help them,” said Paul Bernadou, a Hong Kong-based migration agent, who specialising in relocation to Australia.

“They are not going to get the points,” he said.

Ms Poon said she felt “really lucky” to be in Australia, where she moved in 2017 after almost a decade working for Apple’s parent company Next Media.

She has asked a friend to send her a hard copy of Apple’s final edition to keep “for a memory”.

“It’s so unfair. It’s ending not because it was a bad business – it’s ending because of how good it is.”