The Journal has not admitted it, but the timing and circumstances are cause for suspicion. Shortly after Selina Cheng was elected chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, the Wall Street Journal pink-slipped her. She says the Journal had told her to withdraw her candidacy.
Although the governments of China and Hong Kong are no fans of the HKJA, they haven’t yet wiped it out of existence, the fate of so many other pro-freedom Hong Kong organizations in the wake of the 2020 crackdown on democracy and freedom here. But “state-backed and state-run media outlets in Hong Kong and China” have been accusing the association of “destabilizing the city,” reports The Washington Post (July 17, 2024).
In the lexicon of the Chinese Communist Party, “stability” is the condition of a society characterized by universal unwavering submission to CCP rule. Any form of advocacy of freedom and individual rights necessarily “destabilizes” whatever extent to which a society has achieved this total submission. If “destabilizing” is not exactly the same thing as “subversion” or “collusion,” vague all-encompassing charges that can get you thrown in prison, the CCP probably regards it as a close cognate.
Further suggestive of the Journal’s motive for firing Cheng is the fact that, according to her, “she came under pressure from her employer to quit the association.”
The day before the HKJA election, Cheng said, her supervisors directed her to withdraw her candidacy and to leave HKJA’s board, of which she has been a member since 2021. She declined their requests.
“[I] was immediately told it would be incompatible with my job,” said Cheng. “The editor said employees of the Journal should not be seen as advocating for press freedom in a place like Hong Kong, even though they can in Western countries, where it is already established.”
In an emailed response, a spokesman for Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, confirmed it made “personnel changes” on Wednesday but said it could not comment on specific individuals….
Previously, the Journal’s management in Hong Kong told one of its reporters not to run for president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong, citing risks to the company, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association has posted its objection to the Journal’s treatment of Cheng.
“The Wall Street Journal has covered the state of press freedom in Hong Kong extensively. In May, the paper’s editorial board expressed concern over declining press freedom in the city; and yet, by pressuring employees not to take part in the HKJA, a key advocate for both local and international journalists working in Hong Kong, the WSJ risks hastening the decline of what space for independent journalism remains.”
The Wall Street Journal and other media companies should exit Hong Kong altogether rather than help the CCP to undermine those Hongkongers who are still willing to champion freedom of speech and other liberties.
