WSJ fires new chair of Hong Kong Journalists Association
The head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) said she was fired by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday after she refused demands from senior editors at the paper to sever ties with the organization and to not advocate for media freedoms. - REUTERS
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00:00The newly elected head of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association stood before a throng of reporters
00:06on Wednesday to say she had been fired from her job at the Wall Street Journal after she
00:11refused demands from her boss at the paper to not run for the leadership post and to
00:15not advocate for media freedoms.
00:20At that time, he demanded that I resign from my position on the executive committee of
00:25the Journalists' Association.
00:27I told him that day that I refused, but he said the position in the Journalists' Association
00:32was incompatible with my position at the Wall Street Journal.
00:38He said that employees of the Wall Street Journal should not be promoting press freedom
00:42in places like Hong Kong.
00:44He said this place is not like some Western countries where press freedom has already
00:48been established.
00:50Selena Cheng, who covered China's automobile sector for the Journal, was elected in June
00:54to be the trade union's new chairperson at a time of mounting pressure by authorities
00:59under a national security crackdown that has seen reporters arrested and liberal media
01:04outlets closed.
01:06The Hong Kong Journalists' Association said in a statement that by pressuring employees
01:10not to take part in the trade union, the Journal risks hastening the decline of what space
01:14for independent journalism remains.
01:17A spokesperson for Dow Jones, the Journal's parent company, told Reuters it had made some
01:22personnel changes and restructuring decisions on Wednesday, but would not comment on specific
01:27individuals.