The family and friends of Cheng Lei, have appealed to relevant institutions to help in granting the release of the Australian-Chinese Journalist. Chang Lei, a mother of two, has been in detention in China for 1,000 days. She has been charged with espionage, a move that affirms the level of diplomatic failures among the two nations.
Cheng Lei, a former business anchor for the Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, has been accused of illegally reviewing Chinese confidential secrets oversee. This is a charge that comes along with a prison sentence not less than five years, or life imprisonment.
Authorities in Australia have initially expressed their disgust about the treatment given to Cheng Lei, amid the thoughts that, ties between Canberra and Beijing may have been the root cause of her detention, with no tangible evidence.
Diplomatic relations between China and Australia, have recently improved, with trade increasing and new Australian government in place, but Cheng’s arrest has been a “critical issue” holding back further reconciliation, said Nick Coyle, partner of Cheng Lei.
“The ongoing delay, the ongoing situation, causes enormous damage, not only on Lei and her two children, but I think it’s also causing a lot of damage in terms of the effort for both China and Australia to repair the bilateral relationship,” Coyle added.
“People in Australia and around the world view her detention with a lot of negative sentiment, and that it would be in everyone’s interest for it to be resolved as quickly as possible,” Coyle explained further.
Cheng was on her way to work, on the morning of August 13, 2020, when the Chinese Ministry of State Security approached and detained her. “Now 1,000 days later, we still don’t know why she was taken, why she was charged with deliberately vague national security breaches or when she might be with us again,” Coyle said.
The Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, has also released a statement, which says that, “despite being separated from her family for so long, she has shown great resilience and courage. All Australians want to see her reunited with her children.”
The Minister added that, his ministry shared in the concerns of Cheng’s friends and family about “the ongoing delays in her case,” and that it would continue advocating for Cheng “at every opportunity with the Chinese government.”
The Chinese Closed-Door Court Process
On the other hand, the Chinese authorities have not released any details of the charges against Cheng, which Cheng’s partner Coyle, said it “makes no sense to me.” “She is somebody who’s a deeply passionate Australian, but also very proud of her Chinese heritage,” Coyle said. He continued that, as a journalist, Cheng had been reporting on “the positive aspect of China growth story,” and China’s business engagement with the world.
She has been “making a very positive contribution in that context, so it has never made sense to me why she was detained,” he said.
Observers have criticized the secretive and close-door court processes, that China uses against its targets. Australia’s ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher, was denied entry to begin the Cheng’s trial in Beijing. This is a move the Ambassador called “deeply concerning.” The Chinese court has not delivered a verdict, delaying the announcement on multiple occasions, leaving Cheng stuck in custody, and love ones with no clarity on her fate.
In China, cases relating to issues of national security, are mostly tried behind closed doors, but lack of clarity in the case of Cheng Lei, against the backdrop of China and Australia’s deteriorating relations, has drawn concerns that, the charges against her, may be politically motivated.
Soon as Cheng Lei was arrested, two Australian journalists working in China, fled the country, after Chinese authorities attempted to query them on national security grounds.
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