September 12, 2026 – A Hong Kong court convicted Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, of wilfully preventing former reporter Selina Cheng from exercising her statutory right to become an officer of a registered trade union.
Reuters and The Associated Press reported that Cheng led the Hong Kong Journalists Association. The court acquitted Dow Jones of a separate charge alleging unlawful dismissal because it found insufficient evidence to reject the company’s redundancy explanation.
Dow Jones disputes the ruling and said it was evaluating next steps. The conviction and acquittal must be read separately: the judgment found obstruction of Cheng’s union right, but it did not establish that her redundancy was unlawful.
Why the ruling matters
The case concerns freedom of association inside a media workplace at a time of sustained concern about press freedom in Hong Kong. The ruling does not by itself prove government direction or resolve broader questions about editorial independence.
Sources
- Reuters: Hong Kong court ruling involving Dow Jones and Selina Cheng
- Associated Press: court ruling and responses