HONG KONG, Sept 10 (Reuters) – A Hong Kong court convicted Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, on Thursday of attempting to block a former reporter from becoming the head of a press union, but cleared it of unlawfully firing her.
Journalist Selina Cheng said she was fired by the Wall Street Journal in July 2024 after refusing demands from senior editors at the paper to sever ties with the Hong Kong Journalists Association and to not advocate for press freedom.
Principal Magistrate Cheung Chi-wai David ruled that Dow Jones was guilty of wilfully preventing Cheng from exercising her right, under the city’s Trade Unions Ordinance, to become an officer of a registered trade union in June 2024.
“The company required her to obtain permission to run for the chairpersonship of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) – permission that would have been denied – and asserted that she would not remain employed if she assumed the role,” the magistrate 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 magistrate said 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.
The company pleaded not guilty to both charges, which each carry a maximum fine of HK$100,000 ($12,750). Sentencing is expected at a later date.
Dow Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment following Thursday’s verdict. The company has previously declined to comment on the specifics of Cheng’s allegations.
A spokesperson for Dow Jones told Reuters in 2024 the company had made some restructuring decisions but would not comment on specific individuals.
Cheng, who covered China’s automobile sector for the Journal in Hong Kong, was elected in 2024 to be the HKJA’s new chairperson at a time of mounting pressure by authorities under a national security crackdown that has seen reporters arrested and pro-democracy media outlets closed.
The Wall Street Journal announced changes to its Asia operations in 2024, a move that shifted its “centre 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.”
Cheng said at the time that she was told by her supervisor that employees of the Journal should not be seen as advocating for press freedom in a place like Hong Kong given a potential conflict of interest.
(Reporting by Joyce Zhou; writing by Farah Master; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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