A Hong Kong court has found Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, guilty of attempting to prevent a former journalist from taking up a leadership position in a press union, while clearing the company of unlawfully dismissing her.
The ruling followed a complaint by journalist Selina Cheng, who said she was dismissed by the Journal in July 2024 after refusing instructions from senior editors to cut ties with the Hong Kong Journalists Association and refrain from supporting press freedom.
Principal Magistrate Cheung Chi-wai David ruled on Thursday that Dow Jones had deliberately interfered with Cheng’s right under Hong Kong’s Trade Unions Ordinance to become an officer of a registered trade union.
“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.
Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Cheng said the case had drawn attention to what she described as the suppression of trade union rights in Hong Kong.
She argued that employers should not require workers to seek permission before joining or taking positions within unions.
“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.
However, the court acquitted Dow Jones on a separate charge concerning Cheng’s dismissal. The prosecution had alleged that the company unlawfully terminated her employment on July 17, 2024, because she had exercised her trade union rights.
The magistrate said he could not exclude the possibility that Cheng’s dismissal resulted from a genuine corporate restructuring, meaning the prosecution had not established the allegation beyond reasonable doubt.
Dow Jones had pleaded not guilty to both charges. Each offence carries a maximum fine of HK$100,000 ($12,750), with sentencing expected at a later date.
The company had not immediately responded to a request for comment following Thursday’s ruling. It previously declined to comment on the specific allegations made by Cheng.
A Dow Jones spokesperson told Reuters in 2024 that the company had made restructuring decisions but would not comment on individual employees.
Cheng, who covered China’s automobile industry for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, was elected chairperson of the HKJA in 2024 as authorities intensified a national security crackdown.
The period has seen the arrest of journalists and the closure of pro-democracy media organisations in the city.
The Wall Street Journal also announced changes to its Asian operations in 2024, saying the restructuring would move its “centre of gravity in the region from Hong Kong to Singapore.”
“Consequently, some of our colleagues, mostly in Hong Kong, will be leaving us,” the newspaper said at the time.
Cheng previously said her supervisor had told her that Journal employees should not be perceived as campaigning for press freedom in Hong Kong because doing so could create a conflict of interest.
