Wall Street Journal firing is over press freedom stance in Hong Kong, Selina Cheng says
- Selina Cheng clears the air over her dismissal after city’s security chief suggested newspaper wanted to distance itself from union
The chairwoman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association has said “it is clear” The Wall Street Journal fired her to have its staff avoid being perceived as advocating press freedom in the city, after the security minister suggested the newspaper did so to distance itself from a union that lacked recognition.
Selina Cheng told the Post on Friday that her former supervisors had explicitly told her not to take up the chairwoman position at the Hong Kong Journalists Association, a warning that she risked being fired if she refused to step down.
“They said members of the company’s Hong Kong office should not be seen as advocating for press freedom here,” Cheng said. “I think it is clear that my termination was linked to this reason because when I refused their demand, they immediately indicated I would lose my job.”
The chairwoman added that she had trust that the Labour Department would enforce the law to protect workers’ rights in Hong Kong.
Cheng was voted chairwoman during the association’s election on June 22, assumed office on July 1 and was sacked from the Journal on July 17.
She has said the sacking was triggered by her participation in the trade union and her refusal to cave in to pressure by her former employer to pull out of the union’s leadership race in late June.
