Hong Kong journalist group head says fired by WSJ in press freedom row

The new chair of Hong Kong’s leading media professional group has said she lost her job at The Wall Street Journal after she refused her supervisor’s request to withdraw from the election for the leadership post.

Reporter Selina Cheng told a press briefing on Wednesday that a senior editor told her that her job was eliminated due to restructuring. But Cheng said she believed the real reason was linked to her supervisor’s request about three weeks ago to withdraw from the election for chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), a trade union for journalists also advocating for press freedom.

She said her supervisor also asked her to quit the association’s board, which she has served on since 2021. After she refused, she was told “it will be incompatible” with her job.

“I am appalled that the first press conference I’m giving as HKJA’s new chair is to announce that I was fired for taking up this position in a press union,” said Cheng, who was elected as the new chair in June.

Dow Jones, which publishes the newspaper, confirmed Wednesday it made “some personnel changes” but refused to comment on individuals.

“The Wall Street Journal has been and continues to be a fierce and vocal advocate for press freedom in Hong Kong and around the world,” it said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.

Hong Kong journalists work in a narrowing space after drastic political changes in the city that was once seen as a bastion of media freedom in Asia.

Since the introduction of a Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020, two local news outlets known for critical coverage of the government, Apple Daily and Stand News, were forced to shut down after the arrest of their senior management, including Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai.

In March, Hong Kong enacted another security law to target engaging in espionage, disclosing state secrets and “colluding with external forces” to commit illegal acts, among others. The legislation has sparked worries among many journalists over a further decline in media freedom.