HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court convicted Dow Jones Publishing of preventing or deterring an employee from exercising trade union rights. The court acquitted Dow Jones Publishing of the charge of dismissing or discriminating against an employee because she exercised trade union rights.

Principal Magistrate David Cheung ruled that Selina Cheng's termination was motivated by a wrongful and unjustified application of the company's code of conduct regarding prior approval for her role as chair of the Hong Kong Journalist Association. Principal Magistrate David Cheung described Cheng as honest and reliable and stated she was motivated by the wish to see justice.

Cheng was dismissed from the Wall Street Journal in July 2024, weeks after being appointed chair of the Hong Kong Journalist Association. She covered China’s automobiles and energy sectors for the publication. Cheng launched a private prosecution against Dow Jones Publishing after losing her job.

Dow Jones Publishing pleaded not guilty to both charges. Each charge carried a maximum fine of HK$100,000 (about $12,750). Sentencing is expected to be handed down at a later date.

Cheng said she was told her termination was officially due to restructuring. She said her editor told her that employees should not be seen as advocating for press freedom in places like Hong Kong, saying it could be perceived as a conflict of interest.

She said the company told her she needed to seek the firm’s approval for outside activities and requested her to leave her board position at the Hong Kong Journalist Association. During the trial, the defense argued that Cheng was terminated because of redundancy and that the prosecution had not sufficiently proved that the firm’s management instructed Cheng’s supervisor. The defense accused Cheng of acting in bad faith in a previous hearing.

The Wall Street Journal maintained there was no link between Cheng’s role in the Hong Kong union and her termination. 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, the company said. Eric Lai, senior fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, criticized the outcome. The WSJ set a very bad precedent by punishing an employee who was exercising her constitutionally protected rights in Hong Kong, Eric Lai said.

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, Cheng said. The Hong Kong Journalist Association is the oldest journalist union in Hong Kong, established in 1968 and registered as a trade union representing journalists and workers in news.

Why It Matters

The conviction shows tensions between corporate employment policies and trade union activities in a region where press freedom rankings have declined. Hong Kong ranked 18th out of 139 regions in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index in 2002. Reporters Without Borders ranked Hong Kong 73rd in the world in 2019. By 2026, Hong Kong had fallen 67 places to 140th out of 180 countries and territories in Reporters Without Borders rankings.

The case occurs against a backdrop of media closures and legal actions against journalists. Apple Daily and Stand News were forced to shut down following the arrest of their senior management after Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020. Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February. Staffers of Apple Daily received prison terms ranging from six years and nine months to 10 years.

Timeline

Selina Cheng was dismissed from the Wall Street Journal in July 2024, weeks after being appointed chair of the Hong Kong Journalist Association.

What's New

Selina Cheng said her supervisor told her that her participation in the union election was problematic and that the supervisor needed to discuss the issue with Journal management in New York and Dow Jones’ in-house lawyers. She said she was told that her union role would be incompatible with her employment.

Selina Cheng previously served as a reporter at the Hong Kong Free Press and HK01. The Hong Kong Journalists Association serves as a channel for individuals to file complaints when unethical reporting in local media is observed.