TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Hong Kong digital media outlet Initium Media announced Tuesday (Aug. 3) that it is moving its headquarters to Singapore, becoming the first Hong Kong news outlet to relocate overseas since the draconian national security law was imposed in the city last year.

In an open letter, Executive Editor Susie Wu (吳婧) said Initium will continue to produce in-depth content to reflect the pulses of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. It will operate on an online, decentralized basis, she said, "as the road to freedom becomes ever treacherous," noting that Hong Kong had fallen to 80th place in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index.

Tuesday marked the sixth anniversary of the news organization, which focuses on feature reporting and has about 60,000 paying subscribers. The move comes as Hong Kong media faces an increasingly harsh environment due to the security law.

The pro-democracy Apple Daily was forced to close in June following a string of raids, the arrest of its executives, and the freezing of its assets. In April, a journalist reportedly quit Radio Television Hong Kong after pro-Beijing individuals threatened her over an interview in which she asked a WHO official about membership for Taiwan.

Last year, The New York Times announced that its Hong Kong staff would move to Seoul in the wake of the sweeping security law. Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) complained that a journalist’s work visa had been rejected without an official explanation last August.