China deports Australian journalist after serving sentence

Above, Australian journalist Cheng Lei upon her arrival at the airport in Melbourne on Oct. 11, 2023. (Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade/AFP)

• Australian journalist Cheng Lei reunited with her two young children in Melbourne

BEIJING: China said Australian journalist Cheng Lei had been deported Wednesday, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced she had been freed from detention and reunited with her two young children in Melbourne.
“On 11 October 2023, Cheng Lei, an Australian national, was deported by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of State Security after serving her sentence,” China’s Ministry of State Security said in a statement.