Many Cathay Pacific employees are afraid to work on flights to mainland
China, the BBC reports based on confidential conversations. They fear being
arrested for their support for the Hong Kong protests.
 
Some cabin crew members and pilots who are scheduled on these flights do
not, therefore, consider taking their actual telephone with them in case it
is searched. They also change their social media from statements that can
be viewed negatively by the Chinese regime and do not talk about politics
during working hours.
 
In addition to a possible arrest, the employees fear for their own job.
Cathay Pacific recently succumbed to the heavy Chinese pressure and fired
some pilots and ground workers for participating in "illegal"
protests against China's growing influence in Hong Kong. Since then,
according to the staff, a fear culture has prevailed within the company.
 
Background
 
Initially, Cathay Pacific did not want to take sides in the conflict
between the protesters and the Chinese regime. According to the management,
the political preference of employees was a private matter and
participation in the protests in Hong Kong that have been going on for
months now was not a reason for dismissal.
 
China was furious about this and therefore prohibited the company from
using demonstrators for flights to mainland China any longer (the part of
the country that falls directly under the communist regime). The personnel
lists for flights to or across China were also to be shared with the
authorities from now on.
 
If Cathay did not cooperate, the airline would be banned from flying.
According to unconfirmed reports from Asian media, chief executive Rupert
Hogg was not impressed and submitted a list to the Chinese authorities with
only his own name on it. Shortly thereafter he was forced to resign.

--- D'Bridge 3.99