HK court convicts ‘WSJ’ publisher in reporter row

A Hong Kong court yesterday convicted Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) of attempting to block a reporter from becoming the head of a press union, but cleared it of unlawfully firing her.

Journalist Selina Cheng (鄭嘉如) said she was fired by the Journal in July 2024 after refusing demands from senior editors at the paper to sever ties with the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and to not advocate for press freedom.

Magistrate David Cheung (張志偉) ruled that Dow Jones was guilty of willfully preventing Cheng from exercising her right, under the territory’s Trade Unions Ordinance, to become an officer of a registered trade union in June 2024.

Former Wall Street Journal journalist Selina Cheng speaks to reporters outside Eastern Magistrates’ Courts in Hong Kong yesterday following a court hearing in her private prosecution against her former employer, Dow Jones.

Photo: Reuters

Dow Jones said it disagreed with the ruling and was evaluating next steps.

“The Wall Street Journal has a long and proud history as an employer in Hong Kong. Throughout that time, we have remained deeply respectful of its labor laws and supportive of our employees’ rights, while publishing excellent, impartial journalism about the region,” a spokesperson said.

In his ruling, Cheung said the company had required Cheng to obtain permission, which it would have denied, to run for the chairpersonship of the HKJA.

The company “asserted that she would not remain employed if she assumed the role,” he said.

Cheng told reporters following the court hearing that her case had increased awareness of union suppression in Hong Kong and her former employers had no right to require employees to consult them before joining a union.

“If reporters’ employment rights are not sufficiently safeguarded or when their rights are violated and not enforced in law, then we can no longer work safely as reporters,” she said.

The company was found not guilty of a second charge that alleged it unlawfully terminated Cheng’s employment contract on July 17, 2024, because she had exercised that right.

The possibility that the company dismissed Cheng as part of a genuine corporate restructuring could not be ruled out beyond a reasonable doubt, resulting in an acquittal on the second count, Cheung said.

The company pleaded not guilty to both charges, which each carry a maximum fine of HK$100,000 (US$12,753).

Cheng, who covered China’s automobile sector for the Journal in Hong Kong, was elected in 2024 to be the HKJA’s chair when authorities were carrying out a national security crackdown during which reporters were arrested and pro-democracy media outlets closed.

The Wall Street Journal announced changes to its Asia operations in 2024, a move that shifted its “center of gravity in the region from Hong Kong to Singapore,” it said in a statement at the time. “Consequently, some of our colleagues, mostly in Hong Kong, will be leaving us.”