Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne confirmed on Feb. 8 that Chinese authorities have formally arrested Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist working for China International Television (CGTN), for allegedly leaking state secrets.
Payne said Cheng Lei was formally arrested by Chinese authorities after six months in custody on suspicion of illegally providing state secrets to foreign countries. Payne said Cheng Lei was arrested on Feb. 5. Cheng Lei is said to be an anchor for China International Television (CGTN) and often attends corporate gatherings in Beijing and embassy events for Australians. She was detained in August last year, and the Australian government has previously expressed strong concern about her detention. Payne said, “We expect China to achieve basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment in accordance with international norms.”
Cheng Lei, 45, was born in Hunan province and immigrated to Australia with her Parents as a child. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference on Monday that Chinese judicial organs are handling the case in accordance with the law and fully protect all of Cheng Lei’s legitimate rights and interests; he hoped the Australian side would respect China’s judicial sovereignty and stop interfering in any way with the Chinese side’s handling of the case in accordance with the law. He said he understands that the Chinese judicial authorities, after examining the case in accordance with the law, believe that Cheng Lei is suspected of the crime of illegally providing state secrets for foreign countries, and the case is currently under processing, “and there is no more information to provide.”
Cheng Lei had previously been held in Beijing for six months without charge or access to a lawyer, according to the ABC. She has been held in a cell with no ventilation and no access to sunlight, and has undergone numerous interrogations. Recently, Cheng Lei’s freedom to write and exercise has been more severely restricted. Her 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son are currently in the care of their mother in Melbourne.
Ms. Wen, Chenglei’s niece, said, “We were all shocked when we first heard the notice that she was being detained.” She said, “We didn’t know anything about the case. But we knew she had been detained for five and a half months and that her condition was getting worse.” Reports said that in early 2020, the school that Cheng Lei’s two children attended in Beijing was closed due to the New crown outbreak, and Cheng Lei then sent them to Melbourne for a temporary stay.
On Aug. 13 last year, a team of state security police arrived at her apartment in Beijing’s Dongcheng district and took Chenglei away along with her electronic devices. “I think at the age of 9 and 11, a child that age should be able to understand slightly some sense of why mommy is not here or why mommy can’t contact you”, Ms. Wen said. She said, “I don’t think the children can fully understand the situation yet, so this is something that could be very tough for the children to understand and they would want to know what’s going on.”
Ms. Wen said, “I don’t think Chenglei would in any way intentionally do anything to jeopardize (China’s) national security.” She said, “We’re not sure if she’s just involved in something that she doesn’t even realize.” Last December, Haze Fan, a reporter for Bloomberg’s Beijing bureau and a close friend of Cheng Lei’s, was also taken away by Chinese state security agents in what authorities called a national security investigation. Former Australian Ambassador to China Geoff Raby said the case was likely not related to tensions between Australia and China, but to domestic political issues.
The reality is that there is no official high-level contact between Australia and China,” Raby said. The foreign minister and the prime minister are unable to make high-level representations to the Chinese government on behalf of Cheng Lei, as would normally be the case.” For her part, Payne stressed in her announcement that “the Australian government has consistently expressed serious concerns at a high level about Ms. Cheng’s detention, both in terms of her well-being and the conditions of her detention.” She stated that “in accordance with our bilateral consular agreement with China, Australian Embassy personnel have visited Ms. Cheng six times since her detention, most recently on January 27, 2021.”
On behalf of Cheng Lei’s Family, Ms. Wen expressed hope for a faster resolution. She said, “My hope is that the Australian government will take more action to ensure that Cheng Lei will be released and brought Home.” According to Ms. Wen, “And, hopefully, the Chinese authorities will show more compassion for her current plight. She is a mother with two children who need her very much.”
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