HomeNewsJournalist groups in Manila slam WSJ's move as 'dangerous precedent'

Journalist groups in Manila slam WSJ’s move as ‘dangerous precedent’

Journalist organizations in the Philippines declared solidarity with Selina Cheng following her termination by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) over her ties to the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA).

In a media briefing, Cheng said WSJ fired her under the guise of “restructuring, after instructing her not to run for chairperson of the city’s journalists’ union.

“Today I was fired from the Wall Street Journal… I am appalled that the first press conference I am giving as HKJA’s new chair is to announce that I was fired for taking up this position in a press union,” said Cheng. 



The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) issued a statement expressing concern over the circumstances of Ms. Cheng’s termination, which the group said “sends an alarming signal and sets a dangerous precedent for journalist participation in press clubs and associations.”

“Organizations like HKJA and FOCAP are at the forefront of ensuring that journalists have access to information, freedom to operate, and decent working conditions— basic tenets that enable any journalist to do the job for which they are hired,” the statement read. 

FOCAP said that journalists need the freedom to operate independently, emphasizing the growing importance of news organizations supporting their staff and resisting external pressures in a world where press freedom is increasingly under threat.

In response to FOCAP’s request for comment, WSJ confirmed that some personnel changes had been made but declined to discuss specific individuals.

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“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,” WSJ told FOCAP. 

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) acknowledged that while the instinct for self-preservation in corporations is understandable, media workers, as part of the press, have a significant — perhaps even greater — stake in press freedom. 

NUJP also emphasized the importance of the freedom of association, particularly for joining groups that advocate for press freedom, especially in areas where both freedom and democracy are under severe threat.

“We are in solidarity as well with other officers of the association who have reported pressure from employers to stand down, and with other members of the Hong Kong media who have been told by employers to refrain from joining media associations and clubs in the city,” said NUJP. 

Cheng said her editor told her that WSJ employees should not appear as advocates for press freedom in a place like Hong Kong, despite such behavior being acceptable in Western countries where press freedom is more established.

“I am deeply shocked that senior editors at the paper would actively violate their employees’ human rights, by preventing them from advocating for freedoms the Journal’s reporters rely on to work, in a place where journalists and their rights are under threat,” she said. 

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