Thu. Feb 13th, 2025

Journalist Cheng Lei has returned to Australia after being released from approximately three years of detention in China. Cheng, who worked for China’s state broadcaster, was reunited with her family in Melbourne. Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, expressed his relief at her return, stating that it had been a difficult few years for her family and that her return would be welcomed by all Australians. Cheng’s release followed the completion of the legal process in China. Following her return, she posted a heartfelt message on social media, expressing her gratitude for the support she received. Cheng was arrested in 2020 and charged with “supplying state secrets overseas.” Her detention occurred during a period of strained relations between Australia and China. The details of the accusations against her were never made clear, and she spent the first six months of her detention in solitary confinement without being charged. In a secret trial, Cheng denied the allegations. China’s Ministry of State Security announced that Cheng had been deported after serving her full sentence of two years and 11 months and that she had pleaded guilty to the charges. Cheng described her prison conditions in a note, stating that she missed the sun and had spent three years without seeing a tree. Cheng, who migrated to Australia with her family when she was young, had returned to China and joined the state broadcaster in 2012. She is the second high-profile Australian citizen to be detained in Beijing, following the arrest of writer Yang Hengjun in 2019.

By admin