Australia does not know why journalist Cheng Lei was detained in China, minister says
- Trade minister Simon Birmingham said the Australian embassy was given consular access to the business anchor via video link on August 27
- Tensions between Australia and China have been high this year after Canberra called for a probe into the source of the coronavirus pandemic
The Australian government confirmed on Monday evening that Cheng, a high-profile business anchor on Chinese state television, had been detained two weeks ago.
“Cheng Lei is an Australian, a journalist who has been working in China for some period of time. I’ve actually met her and been interviewed by her while overseas myself. I feel for her family very much at this point in time, and it’s why we will do what we can to assist her, as we would and have any Australian in these sorts of circumstances,” Birmingham told ABC radio.
The Australian embassy was given consular access to Cheng via video link on August 27, he said. Cheng has two children, both in Australia.
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Hua Chunying, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, batted away questions over the fate of the China-born journalist, who enjoyed a high profile as a business news presenter on CGTN.