This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
The , Wall Street Journal , has fired Hong Kong editor Selina Cheng as part of “restructuring” after telling her not to work for president of the state’s editors ‘ union, a article she was elected to in June, she said in a statement via her X accounts.
” Now I was fired from the , Wall Street Journal“, said Cheng, who is the current head of the Hong Kong Journalists ‘ Association, or HKJA, the standard labor union representing editors and editorial team in the area. The right to add a labour coalition is enshrined in Hong Kong’s law, the Basic Law.
In a statement posted to X on July 17, Cheng said,” I am horrified that the first press conference I’m going to be giving as HKJA’s new head is to declare that I was fired for taking this place in a media union.”
Top editors in Cheng’s organization contacted her last month after learning that she was running for union chair.
” My officer in the U. K. directed me to withdraw from the vote. She even asked me to leave the table – which I have served on since 2021 yet though the , Wall Street Journal , approved this when I was hired”, Cheng said. ” This was the day before our vote”.
She added that her treatment was in stark contrast to the , Journal ‘s , vocal support for its reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is currently on trial in Russia for “espionage” charges that U. S. officials have described as a” sham”.
” I declined her calls, and was quickly told it would be inconsistent with my job”, she said.
‘ Greatly shocked’
Although there was no issue with similar behavior in European countries where press freedom is greater, Cheng quoted her director as saying that people of Journal and News should not be seen as advocates for media freedom in a position like Hong Kong.
In a setting where journalists and their rights are in danger, Cheng said,” I am deeply shocked that senior editors at the paper would actively violate their employees ‘ human rights.”
After visiting Hong Kong on Thursday, international director Gordon Fairclough, based in the United Kingdom, personally delivered the news, Cheng claimed she was fired. The official explanation he gave was “restructuring”.
” I reaffirmed to my readers that in Hong Kong, holding a position as an official in a union is legal protected,” Cheng said.  ,
She blamed “fear and uneasiness” over the position in Hong Kong for the article’s choice.
” I am disappointed if these readers worldwide have come to believe that press freedom is a contentious problem, as some might think,” says Cheng.” ” It is not”.
A spokesperson from Dow Jones &, Co., a division of News Corp. that publishes the , Wall Street Journal , confirmed that it made , some personnel changes but that it could n’t comment on specific individuals.
” The , Wall Street Journal , has been and continues to be a harsh and outspoken advocate for media freedom in Hong Kong and around the world”, the man said, asking not to be identified.
Press flexibility drops quickly
Cheng’s vote came after vocal former president Ronson Chan , stepped down from the coalition leadership , citing risks and stress from pro-China sources.
Authorities in China and Hong Kong have consistently argued that editors are safe to conduct “legitimate” reporting under both the March 23-adopted Article 23 Safeguarding National Security Law and the 2020 National Security Law.
But pro-democracy internet giant Jimmy Lai is , now on trial , for” cooperation with international forces” for printing content in his now-shuttered , Apple Daily.  ,
Journalists and media independence campaigners, however, say hit freedom , has gone quickly downward, as Beijing ramps up its mission to shield “national security” with a continuous expansion of forbidden topics and “red lines” in recent years.
Foreign journalists have also been targeted, with the city , refusing to maintain a operate visa , for the , Financial Times ‘ Victor Mallet in 2018 after he hosted pro-independence politician Andy Chan as a speaker at the Foreign Correspondents ‘ Club where he was an established at the time.
” Angry and disappointed”
The Hong Kong Journalists ‘ Association noted that one of its users has also been warned against running for office by their company.
A growing number of possible candidates for board roles at the HKJA, the Foreign Correspondents ‘ Club of Hong Kong, and the Foreign Correspondents ‘ Club of China have been told to abstain from standing for election, according to a statement posted on the union’s website.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association expressed disappointment and outrage over Cheng’s dismissal, noting that Cheng and the coalition are now seeking legal counsel regarding her position.
” The , Wall Street Journal , has covered the state of press freedom in Hong Kong extensively]yet its firing of Cheng ] risks hastening the decline of what space for independent journalism remains”, it said in the July 17 statement.
On top of a good and a criminal history, Cheng said, prohibiting people from becoming officers or members of a union or punishing them for doing so would offend Hong Kong’s Employment Ordinance.
According to Article 27 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong residents are entitled to the freedom to type and add trade unions.
According to Human Rights Watch, media outlets should n’t assist in attempts by the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities to revoke press freedom.
” The , Wall Street Journal‘s decision to fire Selina Cheng is outrageous and disappointing”, the group’s acting China director Maya Wang said in a statement.
Selina Cheng’s unfair firing again demonstrates the declining press freedom in Hong Kong, which was once among the best in the world, to the point where even journalists working for foreign outlets ca n’t safely operate in the city without fear, Wang said.
To Yiu-ming, a former media expert, claimed Cheng’s firing did leave its staff wondering if it was only interested in making money.
” It turns out that there are restrictions to push freedom”, To said. ” It turns out that there is a method for self-censorship”.
” Maybe they’re really looking to make a income”.
