New York Times to move part of Hong Kong office to Seoul

Hong Kong, China: The New York Times will shift part of its Hong Kong office to Seoul, the latest sign of the chill Beijing's new national security law is having on the global financial centre just two weeks after the legislation was imposed.

The Times said its employees have faced challenges securing work permits and it would move its digital team of journalists, roughly a third of its Hong Kong staff, to the South Korean capital over the next year.

The move delivers a blow to the city's status as a hub for journalism in Asia, and comes as China and the United States have clashed over journalists working in each other's countries. Earlier this year, Beijing said journalists no longer allowed to work in mainland China could not work in Hong Kong either.

Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of a high degree of autonomy, which has preserved the city's tradition of a freewheeling press and allowed international media to use it as their Asia hub. 

The new national security law, which punishes what China broadly defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison, has stoked worries about freedom of speech and that of the media. Authorities insist those freedoms remain intact but say national security is a red line.