A ship carrying the slogan of "celebrating the passage of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)" sails at the Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, south China, July 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

Chinese netizens have mocked the closure of German foundation and think tank the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom's office in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), calling it "another fleeing dishonorable organization" and "true threat to Hong Kong's safety," as the foundation said the move was aimed at "protecting its employees" due to the implementation of the national security law for Hong Kong. 

The foundation announced on Wednesday that it is closing its project office in Hong Kong, and attributed the office's closure to the newly implemented national security law for Hong Kong, claiming that it "prevents the foundation's work in HK from continuing" and that it can "no longer guarantee the security of its employees."

"The last wave of arrests on August 26 also affected long-standing partners of the Naumann Foundation," said Karl-Heinz Paqué, chairman of the Board of the FNF. "We cannot and will not expose our employees and partners to this risk."

The foundation is associated with the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), which has close ties with the authorities of the island of Taiwan, and the International Liberal League, founded in 1958. The foundation used to have a branch in the Chinese mainland, but ceased operations in 1996. 

Chinese netizens called the closure of the foundation's office the "fleeing of another dishonorable organization." A netizen wrote on China's Twitter-like social media platform Sina Weibo, "Now that you left, we no longer have to worry about Hong Kong's security."

Some non-governmental organizations (NGO) do have "some undisclosed secrets," Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, solicitor of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, told the Global Times on Thursday. "Under HKSAR's Basic Law, NGOs can easily carry out various kinds of activities in Hong Kong, which in fact provides a breeding ground for some intelligence agencies."

But NGOs that operate legitimately will not face any obstacles from the national security law. "Since the national security law was implemented over two months ago, no NGOs or foreign citizens in Hong Kong have been prosecuted," Wong explained, adding that the German foundation  is "over-concerned." 

"If international organizations operate legally in Hong Kong, there is absolutely no need to worry about the impact of the national security law on them," Wong said.

The foundation opened its Hong Kong office just a year ago. Christian Lindner, chair of the FDP, attended the opening of the office and called Hong Kong the right place for innovation on his visit in July 2019, during which he arranged meetings with HKSAR's pro-secession legislators.