Radio Free Asia closes Hong Kong bureau, citing security law concerns

Radio Free Asia is withdrawing from Hong Kong, the U.S.-funded media outlet said, citing rising concerns about press freedom in the Chinese territory.

HONG KONG — Radio Free Asia is closing its bureau in Hong Kong, the U.S.-funded media outlet said Friday, citing concerns about staff safety in the Chinese territory after the passage of a new local national security law known as Article 23.

“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. It was unclear how many employees were affected or whether they would be relocated elsewhere.

The Hong Kong government declined to comment on RFA’s announcement but said it condemned “all scaremongering and smearing remarks” against the Article 23 law.

“To single out Hong Kong and suggest that journalists would only experience concerns when operating here but not in other countries would be grossly biased, if not outrageous,” a spokesperson said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/radio-free-asia-withdraws-hong-kong-press-freedom-rcna144194

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