A former journalist for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong announced on Tuesday her intentions to file a lawsuit against the publication, claiming her dismissal was a direct consequence of her involvement with a trade union. Selina Cheng lost her position in July after a senior editor informed her that her job was eliminated as part of a restructuring process. However, Cheng asserts that her termination was actually linked to her refusal to withdraw from the election for chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, a union that champions press freedom.
Cheng, who now leads the association, held a press conference where she expressed her disappointment in the unsuccessful mediation efforts with her former employer, which involved private discussions and legal representation. She reported that these conversations yielded no positive outcome, and her efforts to restore her job were met with resistance. Following these unfruitful negotiations, Cheng decided to pursue civil action through the Labor Tribunal, having already presented evidence to the city’s Labor Department. In documentation shared with reporters, she declared that her firing was not only unreasonable but also illegal and directly tied to her union participation.
“If the Wall Street Journal reflects on this decision and acknowledges the wrongdoing, there may still be avenues for resolution,” she stated. Cheng additionally mentioned her plans to cooperate with investigators from the Labor Department, emphasizing her desire to handle this situation as a potential criminal case. She urged officials to look into what she described as possible breaches of the employment ordinance by her former employer.
Dow Jones, the publisher of the Journal, had no immediate comments regarding the situation. The climate for journalists in Hong Kong has dramatically worsened due to significant political shifts, which have curtailed media freedom in a region once regarded as a leading advocate of pressed liberties in Asia.
Following the implementation of a national security law by Beijing in 2020, several local news organizations known for their critical reporting, such as Apple Daily and Stand News, were compelled to shut down, especially after the arrest of top executives, including Apple Daily’s publisher, Jimmy Lai. Lai is currently awaiting his defense testimony in a landmark national security trial scheduled for next week. In August, two former editors from Stand News were convicted, marking the first instances of journalists found guilty of sedition since Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. One of these editors received a sentence of 21 months in prison.
The passage of another security law in March raised further alarms among media professionals regarding the erosion of journalistic freedoms. Cheng’s dismissal in July resonated throughout Hong Kong’s media community, with her former employer maintaining that her exit was due to redundancy.
“As reporters, we despise being misled, especially by our direct superiors and our companies,” she expressed. The Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees, a labor union for Dow Jones’ staff, characterized Cheng’s reported firing as “unconscionable,” urging the publication to reinstate her and issue a complete explanation for its actions. As reported in the latest World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Hong Kong ranks poorly at 135th among 180 nations and territories, a steep decline from its position at 80 in 2021.