The head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) said she was fired by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Wednesday, July 17, after she refused demands from senior editors at the paper to sever ties with the organization and to not advocate for media freedoms.

Selina Cheng, who worked in the Journal’s Hong Kong bureau as a reporter covering China’s automobile sector, was elected on June 22 to be the HKJA’s new chairperson at a time of mounting pressure by authorities under a national security crackdown that has seen reporters arrested and liberal media outlets closed.

“My supervisor in the UK directed me to withdraw from the election,” Cheng told reporters on Wednesday after walking out of the Journal’s Hong Kong bureau.

She said she had refused. Cheng said Gordon Fairclough, the WSJ’s world coverage chief, terminated her employment in person in Hong Kong on Wednesday, explaining it was part of a restructuring move. There was no immediate response to an emailed request for comment from Fairclough.