(17 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hong Kong – 17 July 2024
1. Former Wall Street Journal reporter and Chairperson of The Hong Kong Journalists Association, Selina Cheng walking out of her office after losing her job
2. Pan from media to Cheng
3. Cheng on escalator leaving office building
4. Cheng talking to media
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Selina Cheng, former Wall Street Journal reporter and Chairperson of The Hong Kong Journalists Association:
"This morning, I was fired from the Wall Street Journal. I am appalled that the first press conference I am giving as HKJA’s new chair, is to announce that I was fired for taking up this position in a press union. Around three weeks ago, after senior editors at the newspaper found out I was running to be HKJA’s chairperson, my supervisors in the U.K. directed me to withdraw from the election. She also asked me to quit the board, which I have served on since 2021, even though the Wall Street Journal approved this when I was hired. This was the day before our election. I declined her requests, and was immediately told it would be incompatible with my job."
6. Various of Cheng talking to media
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Selina Cheng, former Wall Street Journal reporter, and Chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association
"I am deeply shocked that senior editors at the paper would actively violate their employees’ human rights by preventing them from advocating for press freedoms the Journal’s reporters rely on to work, in a place where journalists and their rights are under threat."
8. Various of Cheng surrounded by media
STORYLINE:
The new chair of Hong Kong’s leading media professional group on Wednesday 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 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, 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.
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