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U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia is closing its Hong Kong operation out of concern for the safety of its staff and reporters, a move that comes after Hong Kong enacted a tough new national security law known locally as Article 23.
Radio Free Asia President Bay Fang said in a statement Friday that the outlet's programming and content will continue without disruption.
But, Fang said, actions by Hong Kong authorities, including referring to RFA as a "foreign force," raise serious questions about its ability to operate in safety following the enactment of Article 23.
The city's Beijing-backed legislature passed Article 23 legislation earlier this month and comes atop an already existing national security law that the central government imposed on Hong Kong in 2020. Article 23 refers to the part of Hong Kong's post-handover constitution, the Basic Law, that requires the territory to enact national security legislation.
Hong Kong's most prominent pro-Democracy paper, Apple Daily, shut down in June 2021 after its accounts were frozen and its publisher, Jimmy Lai, arrested. The last pro-Democracy paper, Stand News, closed in December 2021 after it was raided and its leadership arrested.
Radio Free Asia President Bay Fang said in a statement Friday that the outlet's programming and content will continue without disruption.
But, Fang said, actions by Hong Kong authorities, including referring to RFA as a "foreign force," raise serious questions about its ability to operate in safety following the enactment of Article 23.
The city's Beijing-backed legislature passed Article 23 legislation earlier this month and comes atop an already existing national security law that the central government imposed on Hong Kong in 2020. Article 23 refers to the part of Hong Kong's post-handover constitution, the Basic Law, that requires the territory to enact national security legislation.
Hong Kong's most prominent pro-Democracy paper, Apple Daily, shut down in June 2021 after its accounts were frozen and its publisher, Jimmy Lai, arrested. The last pro-Democracy paper, Stand News, closed in December 2021 after it was raided and its leadership arrested.