Hong Kong court convicts Dow Jones of deterring ex-WSJ reporter from union role

A Hong Kong court ruled Thursday that Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones unlawfully deterred reporter Selina Cheng from taking a union position, while acquitting it over her dismissal.

• Principal Magistrate David Cheung convicted Dow Jones Publishing of preventing or deterring Cheng from exercising trade union rights, calling its prior-approval requirement an "unjustified deterrent."
• The court acquitted Dow Jones of dismissing Cheng over her Hong Kong Journalists Association chairmanship, accepting that she was made redundant in corporate restructuring.
• Cheng was fired by the Wall Street Journal in July 2024, weeks after becoming HKJA chair, and launched a private prosecution after a Labour Department complaint drew no prosecution.
• Cheng told reporters outside court that without safeguarded and enforced employment rights, journalists "can no longer work safely."