WSJA fired Selina Chang, the newly elected chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association

The president of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) alleged that the Wall Street Journal sacked her on Wednesday for defying their requests to cut off all connections to the organization and to stop supporting media freedoms.
Selina Cheng, a reporter for the Journal covering China’s auto industry in its Hong Kong bureau, was elected as the HKJA’s new chairperson on June 22. This came amid increasing pressure from the authorities during a national security crackdown that has resulted in the arrest of reporters and the closure of liberal media outlets.

After leaving the Journal’s Hong Kong bureau on Wednesday, Cheng told reporters, “My supervisor in the UK directed me to withdraw from the election.”  She claimed to have declined. Cheng reported that on Wednesday, in person, Gordon Fairclough, the head of the WSJ’s global coverage, fired her, citing a reorganization action. Fairclough sent out an email for comment, but there was no quick response.
The parent company of the Journal, Dow Jones, confirmed to Reuters that it had made some reorganization and staff changes on Wednesday, but it would not comment on any specific individuals.

On July 17, 2024, in Hong Kong, China, Selina Cheng, the recently elected chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, addresses the media following the termination of her employment contract with the Wall Street Journal. “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 spokesperson said.

The Wall Street Journal stated in May that it was restructuring its operations in Asia in an effort to
Cheng claimed that “our 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.” “What we will not change is our commitment to producing, agenda-setting journalism out of Asia.”

Her supervisor informed her that Journal staff members shouldn’t be viewed as promoting press freedom in a country like Hong Kong. “The HKJA said in a statement it was “disappointed and outraged” by the Journal’s decision, saying that by pressuring employees not to take part in the HKJA, the newspaper “risks hastening the decline of what space for independent journalism remains”.

The Wall Street Journal stated in May that it was restructuring its operations in Asia in an effort to
Cheng claimed that because of a possible conflict of interest, her supervisor informed her that Journal staff members shouldn’t be viewed as promoting press freedom in a country like Hong Kong. Cheng declared that she will stay in charge of the HKJA.”The (jobless) situation I am facing is temporary, but I think the responsibility of safeguarding press freedom is longer-term and more important than a job or salary.”