Australia ‘deeply concerned’ over delays in journalist Cheng Lei’s national security trial verdict in China
- A court last year deferred its ruling following the closed-door trial of Cheng, who is accused by Beijing of sharing state secrets
- Foreign minister Penny Wong said Canberra had ‘advocated at every opportunity for Ms. Cheng to be reunited with her family’
Penny Wong marked the first anniversary of the closed trial in Beijing with a statement that said her government had “advocated at every opportunity for Ms. Cheng to be reunited with her family.”
“She is still waiting to learn the outcome of the trial,” Wong said. “We share the deep concerns of Ms. Cheng’s family and friends about the ongoing delays in her case.”
“Our thoughts today are with Ms. Cheng and her loved ones, particularly her two children,” she added. The children live with family in the Australian city of Melbourne.
Cheng Lei’s partner concerned for health of journalist detained in China
The anniversary comes as troubled relations between China and Australia show signs of improvement since Wong’s centre-left Labor Party came to power at elections last year.
Cheng, 47, was born in China and was a journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television. She was detained in August 2019 and accused by China of sharing state secrets.
Her statement then said Australia’s government was “deeply troubled” by the delays in China resolving espionage allegations. Yang, 57, faced a closed trial on an espionage charge in Beijing in May 2021 and is still waiting for a verdict.
01:51
Australian journalist Cheng Lei formally arrested in China for ‘illegally supplying state secrets’
Wong raised the cases of Yang and Cheng with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in December when she became to first Australian foreign minister to visit China in four years.
China has begun accepting shipments of Australian coal in recent weeks for the first time since late 2020 in a sign of thawing bilateral relations since Australia’s former conservative administration was ousted after nine years in power.
