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18 / Periscope
Dismissal for Facebook posts
n August 27, Cathay Dragon flight attendant
Mixe Lee received a call from his company
Oasking him to return to Hong Kong at once
upon his arrival at a hotel in Shanghai.
While waiting for his return flight, Lee received
another call from his former colleague Rebecca Sy,
former Cathay Dragon cabin crew union chairwom-
an who was dismissed by the company after posting
three Facebook posts related to the anti-extradition
law amendment bill (anti-ELAB) movement in her
private account. Sy voiced her support and gave Lee
some advice. “She was even more nervous than me,”
the 30-year-old ex-steward recalls.
The following day, Lee attended a meeting with
his bosses who showed him screenshots of two Fa-
cebook posts and asked him if he wrote those posts
on the social media platform. One was about alleged
police brutality against pro-democracy protesters.
Lee denied writing those posts, though he actu-
ally did. Knowing how Sy was sacked, Lee wanted to
explore another way of dealing with the interroga-
tion to see if the result would be different. He was
then asked to submit an explanation letter within
48 hours to provide evidence that could prove the
Facebook posts were not written by him.
On September 5, Lee attended another meeting
with managers to learn that he was sacked.
He demanded the reason for his contract ter-
mination. “I can’t tell you anything about it,” said
one of the managers. Lee walked out of the meeting
room and broke down in tears in front of his col-
leagues who were waiting for him there.
“I felt so disappointed and shocked during the
meeting,” Lee says. He handed in his staff ID card
and waved goodbye to his three-and-a-half-year ca-
reer in the sky.
“White terror” in the airline industry
Lee is not an isolated case. According to Hong
Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU),
until September 29, 36 aviation professionals have
been sacked or forced to resign under similar situ- breach of the code of conduct or the law.
ation, including 26 from Cathay Pacific and 6 from
Cathay Dragon, the airline’s regional arm which
operates most of the Cathay group’s flights to Main- in the city’s large-scale social movement. Aviation workers
land China.
Carol Ng Man-yee, head of HKCTU, criticises
the carrier for spreading “white terror” among its
employees to suppress freedom of speech. “The so-
called white terror can make people censor them-
selves, regulate themselves and eventually silence
themselves,” the labour activist says.
Mixe Lee was sacked because of writing two Facebook posts
related to the anti-ELAB movement.
The so-called white terror can
make people censor themselves,
regulate themselves and eventually
silence themselves,
Cathay comes under pressure from China,
which has become a major source of ten-
sion. On August 9, the Civil Aviation Ad-
ministration of China (CAAC) issued a
severe aviation safety risk warning to one
of the world’s top airlines based in Hong
Kong that does business with China, stat-
Carol Ng ing that Cathay employees who “support or
Man-yee take part in illegal protests, violent actions,
or overly radical behaviour” will be banned
from staffing flights to Mainland China or using Chinese air-
space.
Later that same day, in response, a Cathay spokesman
said: “There is zero tolerance for any inappropriate and un-
professional behaviour that may affect aviation safety.” The
company has also updated its employee guidelines that in-
clude a section on social media posts, encouraging staff to
“speak up” via the whistle-blowing policy if they see any
Since Hong Kong’s anti-ELAB protests broke out in
June, the airline industry has been actively playing a role
launched two online petitions, calling upon the govern-
ment to respond to protesters’ demands. They also organised
a peaceful assembly themed “Fly with You” at the airport in
July, attempting to draw international visitors’ attention to
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.
On August 5, protesters kicked off a citywide general
strike, in the hope of pressing the government to make