BEIJING: Australian journalist Cheng Lei went on trial behind closed doors in a heavily guarded Beijing court on Thursday on charges of providing state secrets to a foreign country, more than 19 months after she was detained. Cheng, 46, was a television anchor for Chinese state broadcaster CGTN before being detained in August 2020. She was formally arrested a year ago on
Sino-Australian Relations and the Bumpy Road to the G7 Summit
Publication: China Brief Volume: 21 Issue: 10
May 21, 2021 01:07 PM
Age: 11 hours
Image: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met in Bangkok, Thailand ahead of the East Asian Summit in November 2019. Diplomatic relations, already tense over Australian concerns of Chinese influence in domestic politics and China’s defensiveness in response to Australia’s outspoken criticisms of Chinese human rights abuses, took a significant downturn in 2020. (Source: ABC).
Introduction
The Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei (成蕾) was formally arrested by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in early February after having been detained for six months in Beijing. Her arrest was confirmed by the PRC on February 8, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) stating that Cheng would face criminal charges for “illegally providing state secrets to foreign forces