Former TV anchor and Australian journalist, Cheng Lei went on trial on spying charges after being detained for more than 19 months in a Beijing court. Here’s everything you need to know about the high-profile case.
What is the Cheng Lei trial all about?
China-born Australian Cheng Lei is accused of illegally supplying state secrets. However, her family is insisting that she is innocent. The journalist was working for CGTN, the Chinese state media outlet before her detention in August 2020. Canberra is raising repeated concerns on this and calling on China to meet the “basic standards of justice”. At this moment, we do not know a lot about Cheng’s alleged offenses. Additionally, the exact date of the verdict is also unknown.
According to Graham Fletcher, the Australian ambassador to China, Australian officials are being denied entry. The Chinese courts are also stopping outsiders from entering as it is politically sensitive. “This is deeply concerning, unsatisfactory and regrettable. We can have no confidence in the validity of the process which is conducted in secret,” stated Fletcher. He added that Australia will keep advocating “strongly for Ms. Cheng Lei’s rights and interests”. Since the detention, her family has been unsuccessful in contacting her. Her parents and children “miss her immensely and sincerely hope to reunite with her as soon as possible”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that a verdict in the case would be announced: “at a scheduled date”.
“We urge the Australian side to earnestly respect China’s judicial sovereignty and refrain from interfering in the handling of cases by the Chinese judicial authorities in any form,” Wang told a regular daily briefing.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced the deferral of the verdict.
More about the case and detention
Before the detention, Cheng was working in Beijing. In August 2020, she disappeared suddenly from the television and it was unable for her friends and family to contact her. Additionally, CGTN, her former employer wiped her profile page and work from its websites. Initially, China revealed that the authorities were holding her on national security grounds. However, in February 2021, authorities arrested Cheng formally for spying. Her family who lives in Australia don’t know why the authorities are detaining her.
In line with the bilateral consular agreement, Australian representatives can visit her once a month. However, the deteriorating relations between the two countries are making it difficult to negotiate. Beijing has been arresting or expelling several journalists. However, following Cheng’s arrest, the last two Australian correspondents in China fled as per consular advice. Previously, writer yang Hengjun was detained for three years.