HK's pro-democracy paper to shut down in a blow to press freedom

Publication's demise comes after the govt froze its funds, seized computers, halting critical reporting of Beijing

Apple Daily, a popular newspaper in Hong Kong, has long needled Beijing with its rambunctious support of pro-democracy protesters, aggressive investigations of officials and lampooning of China’s Communist Party leadership. Now China has effectively silenced the paper — and along with it, one of its most defiant critics.
 
Apple Daily said on Wednesday that it was closing less than a week after the police froze its accounts, raided its offices and arrested top editors, as the government’s escalating campaign against dissent takes aim at the city’s once vaunted media freedoms.
 
The forced closure of Apple Daily struck a