HONG KONG: US-funded Radio Free Asia said on Friday it had closed its Hong Kong bureau citing concerns over staff safety after the enactment of a new national security law known as Article 23 in the China-ruled city.

“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, its president said in a statement.

The law came into effect on March 23 after it was unanimously passed by Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing legislature, updating a broader China-imposed national security law in 2020.