Cheng Lei,an Australian journalist who worked for China’s state media,has been arrested.Credit: Getty
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the Australian government has raised its serious concerns about Cheng’s detention regularly at senior levels,including about her welfare and conditions.
“Australian embassy officials have visited Ms Cheng six times since her detention,most recently on 27 January 2021,in accordance with our bilateral consular agreement with China,” she said.
“We expect basic standards of justice,procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met,in accordance with international norms.”
Cheng attended school in Brisbane before completing an accounting degree at the University of Queensland. After a business career with Cadbury and ExxonMobil in Melbourne,Cheng took an internship with the Chinese-state media network CCTV in 2002.
She would go on to become a China correspondent for US pay TV network CNBC,and then later an anchor for Chinese state media network CGTN-News,the English language channel of China Central Television.
The details of the arrest and exact nature of the claims against her remain vague. Cheng could face months before being formally charged by Chinese authorities,which gives prosecutors 45 days to lay charges and then up to three extension periods under China’s opaque judicial system. The conviction rate in China is 99 per cent.