Australia voices concern for journalist as trial in China looms

Australian journalist Cheng was a familiar face on the state broadcaster CGTN’s English-language channel, conducting interviews with noted CEOs from around the world. (AP)

• Australian journalist Cheng Lei was previously an anchor on state broadcaster CGTN
• She was formally arrested for ‘illegally supplying state secrets overseas’ in February last year

SYDNEY: Canberra voiced concern for Australian journalist Cheng Lei’s well-being Saturday, as it confirmed she would face trial in China next week after almost two years in detention.
Cheng, previously an anchor on state broadcaster CGTN, disappeared in August 2020 and was formally arrested for “illegally supplying state secrets overseas” in February last year.
“The Australian government has regularly raised serious concerns about Ms Cheng’s welfare and conditions of detention,” foreign minister Marise Payne said in a statement, also confirming staff had met with Cheng on Monday.
“We expect basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met, in accordance with international norms.”
The mother of two was a familiar face on the state broadcaster’s English-language channel, conducting interviews with noted CEOs from around the world.
Further details of the charges against her are not known.
“We have asked also that Australian officials be permitted to attend Ms Cheng’s hearing on 31 March, in line with China’s obligations under the Australia-China bilateral consular agreement,” Payne said.
Born in Hunan province, Cheng is now an Australian national who emigrated to the country as a child, before returning to China and joining the state broadcaster in 2012.
China does not allow citizens to hold dual nationality.
She could face severe punishment if found to have broken China’s national security laws, which can carry a sentence of up to life in prison for cases deemed most serious.
Cheng’s detention came as relations between Australia and China cratered.
The timing and lack of information about charges raised speculation that her detention was politically motivated, or tit-for-tat retaliation.
Beijing has reacted angrily to Australia’s liberal use of foreign interference laws to block Chinese investment in sensitive sectors and to investigate Chinese influence on the country’s public life, as well as Canberra’s calls for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cheng’s detention also came weeks after Australian authorities raided the homes of Chinese state media journalists.
Her detention sent shockwaves through China’s foreign journalist community and two Australian journalists, Bill Birtles and Michael Smith, fled China shortly after being interrogated about Cheng.
Months after Cheng’s detention, Chinese authorities also detained a Bloomberg News employee, Haze Fan, also on allegations of endangering national security.