Wall Street Journal denies violating labour laws by sacking Hong Kong union head

The Wall Street Journal has denied violating Hong Kong labour laws for its dismissal of an employee after she was elected the head of the city’s largest journalist union last year.

Counsel for Dow Jones Publishing Co (Asia), a branch of the company that runs the United States-based newspaper, said in a letter to Eastern Court that it intended to contest the two charges brought against it in a private prosecution by Hong Kong Journalists Association chairwoman Selina Cheng Kar-yue.

Cheng, a former reporter with the outlet, has accused the newspaper of engaging in acts “calculated to prevent or deter” her from exercising her right to become a trade union officer under the Employment Ordinance between June 21 and 22, last year.

She also alleged that it terminated her employment in July 2024 because of her role in the association.

Lawyers told the court on Wednesday they expected the trial to last four days, with two witnesses from each side possibly being called to testify.

Acting Principal Magistrate David Cheung Chi-wai tentatively scheduled the trial for December 18, adding that any application to push back the case would require justification.