“Actions by Hong Kong authorities, including referring to RFA as a ‘foreign force,’ raise serious questions about our ability to operate in safety with the enactment of Article 23,” Bay Fang, president and chief executive of Radio Free Asia, said in a statement.
Fang said that while Radio Free Asia will retain its official media registration, the outlet has closed its physical bureau in Hong Kong and no longer has full-time employees in the city, where it had operated since 1996.
The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, also referred to as the Article 23 law, was enacted on March 23 after being approved unanimously by Hong Kong’s opposition-free legislature.
The State Department had told NBC News earlier this month that it was aware of reports that RFA might withdraw from the city and that “such a decision would represent the latest consequence of Hong Kong authorities’ continuing suppression of media freedom.”
On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was taking steps to impose new visa restrictions on multiple Hong Kong officials in connection with the intensifying crackdown on dissent.
High-profile trials of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, 76, and two former Stand News editors are expected to have profound implications for press freedom in the city.
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