China formally arrests Australian television anchor on espionage charges

China has formally arrested an Australian journalist of Chinese descent by CGTN, China English Television’s English channel, on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets abroad, Foreign Minister ‘Australia. Cheng Lei’s arrest last Friday began an official criminal investigation and took place six months after she was arrested.

“The Australian government has expressed serious concerns about Ms. Cheng’s detention regularly at higher levels, including her well-being and conditions of detention,” said Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

“We hope that the basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and human treatment are met, in accordance with international standards,” he added.

China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Cheng’s arrest and said his legal rights were “fully guaranteed.”

“We hope Australia will sincerely respect China’s judicial sovereignty and refrain from interfering in case management based on Chinese law,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a daily briefing.

The charges, which could carry a life sentence or even death, are very unusual for an employee of a media outlet closely controlled by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Last week, British media watchdog Ofcom withdrew its broadcasting license from CGTN in the UK due to lack of editorial control and is investigating allegations of forcibly confessing to suspects in political cases.

The worsening of bilateral relations since Australia called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic is suspected to be the cause of Cheng’s arrest.

Cheng’s two children, ages 9 and 11, live with their grandmother in Melbourne, Australia, said the journalist’s niece, Louisa Wen.

“I feel like the kids don’t fully understand the situation, so it’s probably pretty hard for the kids to wonder what’s going on,” Wen said. “Every time we do something fun, we’re thinking about her and how she can’t enjoy these things with us.”

Geoff Raby, executive director of a Beijing-based business advisory firm, said Cheng has been his friend since he was Australia’s ambassador to China for four years ending in 2011.

“She knows how the system works. She’s very, very knowledgeable and experienced and I think this whole episode is pretty amazing,” Raby told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

A month before Cheng was arrested on August 13, Australia warned its citizens of a risk of arbitrary detention in China. China rejected the warning as misinformation.

Before the last two journalists working for the Australian media in China left the country in September, Chinese authorities questioned them about Cheng.

To the Australian Broadcasting Corp. journalist. Bill Birtles and the Australian Financial Review, Michael Smith, were told they were “people of interest” in an investigation into Cheng.

“I think the episode was more of a harassment against the remaining Australian journalists rather than a genuine effort to try to get anything useful for this case,” Birtles said after returning to Sydney.

Australia has criticized China for accusing Chinese-Australian spy novelist Yang Hengjun of espionage. He has been in custody since January 2019.

Australian Karm Gilespie was sentenced to death in China last year, seven years after he was arrested and charged with attempting to embark on an international flight with more than 7.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. Some observers suspect that such a serious sentence so long after the crime was related to the bilateral fracture.

Cheng was an anchor on CGTN’s BizAsia program. He was born in China and worked in finance in Australia before returning to China and starting his journalism career with CCTV in Beijing in 2003.