Fear stalks CathayPacific staff after HongKong protest sackings
A fortnight ago Cathay Pacific said it "wouldn't dream" of muzzling the views of its 27,000 Hong Kong staff, but after the dismissal of several pro-democracy supporters among its workforce under Chinese pressure, employees say this is exactly what has happened.
In mid-August, the carrier's position seemed unequivocal and in line with the city's culture of free speech."We employ 27,000 different staff in Hong Kong... we have virtually every opinion on every issue amongst our staff," Chairman John Slosar told reporters."We certainly wouldn't dream of telling them what they have to think about something."
Crew fear a witch-hunt is underway for anyone who has expressed support for the protests, which started in June but show no sign of abating. It is not clear if Cathay has run its own audit for staff who have supported protests or if Chinese authorities have collated a list.JUST BUSINESS"There is a zero-tolerance approach to any support for or participation in illegal protests, violent activities or overly radical behaviour," the carrier said in a statement.
Cathay's travails reveal Beijing's"very blatant" strategy towards big companies based in the semi-autonomous financial centre, says Willy Lam, a professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong.Experts say around 20 per cent of Cathay flights - including on Cathay Dragon - are in China, while Chinese passengers travel to Hong Kong for the carrier's global network. Cathay also runs one of the world's largest cargo businesses.
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