A view of Hong Kong's skyline taken before the lights were turned off to commemorate the Earth Hour environmental campaign on March 25, 2023.
Bertha Wang/AFP via Getty Images
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Bertha Wang/AFP via Getty Images
A view of Hong Kong's skyline taken before the lights were turned off to commemorate the Earth Hour environmental campaign on March 25, 2023.
Bertha Wang/AFP via Getty Images
Radio Free Asia, which is funded by the US government, will close its operations in Hong Kong over concerns for the safety of its staff and reporters, as the city enacts a tough new national security law known locally as Article 23. This measure was taken in response to the incident.
Radio Free Asia President Bai Fan said in a statement on Friday that the station's programming and content will continue without interruption.
However, Fang said actions by Hong Kong authorities, including calling the RFA a “foreign force”, raise serious questions about whether the RFA can operate safely after the enactment of Article 23.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong's Chinese government-backed legislature passed Bill 23, which builds on the existing national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the central government in 2020. Article 23 refers to part of the Basic Law, which is the constitution of Hong Kong after the handover. , which requires the territory to enact national security laws.
Apple Daily, Hong Kong's most influential pro-democracy newspaper, shut down in June 2021 after its account was frozen and its publisher Jimmy Lai was arrested. The last pro-democracy newspaper, Stand News, ceased publication in December 2021 after it was raided and its leaders arrested.
The new law further strengthens the government's arsenal with a broad definition of state secrets and language targeting outside forces.
RFA receives funding from the U.S. Congress but claims to operate with editorial independence. We have been operating in Hong Kong since 1996.
US imposes visa ban on Hong Kong officials
Meanwhile, the US State Department announced on Friday that it would ban visas to some Hong Kong officials, citing the suppression of freedoms.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that although China promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy, China has taken a number of steps over the past year to suppress rights and freedoms within the territory.
These include Article 23, which Blinken said could be used to eliminate dissent in Hong Kong as part of what he called China's cross-border repression, or criticize foreign critics. He said that there is a possibility that it could be used against others.
In response, Blinken said the U.S. was imposing new visa restrictions on “several” Hong Kong officials, but the statement did not specify the names of the officials or how many people would be affected by the move. was not mentioned.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., called the United States “ignoring facts, making irresponsible statements on the Hong Kong issue, and making baseless accusations” after news of the State Department's annual review was published. he accused.
He insisted that Hong Kong's new national security law strikes a balance and ensures rights, freedoms and economic growth, calling on the United States to “immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and other China's internal affairs.” ” he asked.
