Cheng, who worked for state broadcaster CGTN, has been in detention since 2020 amid worsening Australia-China relations.
Cheng Lei, a Chinese-born Australian journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television, attends a public event in Beijing on August 12, 2020. Journalist groups renewed calls for the release of Cheng on the eve of her trial in Beijing on espionage charges [File: Ng Han Guan/AP Photo]
31 Mar 2022
Australian journalist Cheng Lei has gone on trial in a heavily-guarded Beijing court on spying charges after being detained for more than 19 months.
Cheng, who was a leading business news presenter on Chinese state broadcaster CGTN when she was detained in August 2020, was formally arrested a year ago on suspicion of “illegally supplying state secrets overseas“.
The closed-door hearing at the No 2 People’s Intermediate Court in Beijing got underway at about 9.30 am (01:30 GMT) on Thursday morning and is expected to last for a few hours.
Further details of the charges against her are unknown, but the mother of two could face a sentence of up to life imprisonment if found guilty.
Security outside the court was tight with uniformed police and plain-clothed officers on duty. Police taped off areas close to the north entrance of the court and also checked journalists’ identification and asked them to move away, according to the Reuters news agency.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne had asked that Australian diplomats be allowed to attend Cheng’s hearing in line with a consular agreement between the two nations, but Australian Ambassador Graham Fletcher told journalists he had not been allowed into the court.
Describing the decision as “deeply concerning”, he added: “We have no confidence in the validity of a process that is conducted in secret.”
Australian officials have had regular visits with Cheng, and last saw her on March 21. The country has previously expressed concern over Cheng’s treatment, and what it says is a “lack of transparency” over the case.
In a joint statement, Australia’s Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, the International Federation of Journalists, the Australian National Press Club and its United States counterpart said Cheng was being held on “dubious charges that have yet to be substantiated with any evidence”.
“We have urged the Chinese government to show compassion by allowing her to return to Australia and we condemn her arbitrary detention and the secretive trial process she has endured,” the statement said.
China’s courts convict about 99 percent of defendants.
“Her two children and elderly parents miss her immensely and sincerely hope to reunite with her as soon as possible,” Cheng’s family said in a statement provided to Reuters.
Other foreign nationals charged with spying have been tried behind closed doors, including Australian blogger and writer Yang Hengjun, and Canadian former diplomat Michael Kovrig who appeared in the same court.
Cheng was detained amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Australia and China, and as Beijing raided the homes of Chinese state media journalists as part of an investigation into alleged foreign interference.
Cheng was born in China and moved with her parents to Australia as a child. After working as an accountant and financial analyst, she later returned to China and joined the state broadcaster in 2012.
People walk outside the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People’s Court, where Australian journalist Cheng Lei is on trial on spying charges [Florence Lo/Reuters]
Diplomatic relations between Australia and China remain tense after Canberra urged an international investigation into the source of COVID-19, accused Beijing of meddling in its domestic politics, and blocked some Chinese investments. Beijing has responded with trade embargoes on key Australian exports.
The timing of Cheng’s detention and the lack of clarity about the charges against her led to speculation that her detention was politically motivated or tit-for-tat retaliation.
Two Australian journalists, Bill Birtles and Michael Smith, later fled China after being questioned about Cheng.
Months after the presenter’s detention, Chinese authorities also detained Bloomberg News employee Haze Fan, a Chinese citizen, on allegations of endangering national security.
12 hours ago — Australian journalist Cheng Lei has gone on trial in a heavily-guarded Beijing court on spying charges after being detained for more than 19 ...
6 hours ago — A Beijing court is holding a closed-door trial for Australian journalist and former TV anchor Cheng Lei, in a high-profile diplomatic case.
5 hours ago — BEIJING, March 31 (Reuters) - China's closed-door trial of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, accused of providing state secrets to a foreign ...
11 hours ago — Foreign journalists and diplomats, including Australia's ambassador, were denied entry to the courtroom on Thursday as Cheng, a former anchor ...
15 hours ago — BEIJING: Australian journalist Cheng Lei was due to face trial in a Beijing court on Thursday (Mar 31) on state secrets charges after more ...
40 minutes ago — Cheng Lei, a Chinese-born Australian journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television, attends an event in ...
13 hours ago — A Chinese court has deferred its verdict in the trial of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who has been in detention for 19 months after ...
9 hours ago — Australian journalist Cheng Lei went on trial behind closed doors in a heavily guarded Beijing court on Thursday on charges of providing ...
8 hours ago — Cheng Lei (Chinese: 成蕾; pinyin: Chéng Lěi; born 1975) is a Chinese-born Australian television news anchor and business reporter. She served as a prominent ...
14 hours ago — BEIJING: Australian journalist Cheng Lei was due to face trial in a Beijing court on Thursday on state secrets charges after more than 19 ...
13 hours ago — ... ambassador to China has been blocked from entering a Beijing court to witness the trial of detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei.
2 hours ago — Cheng Lei: Chinese-born Australian journalist put on closed-door trial for spying. Australia has raised concerns over the trial's validity as it ...
2 hours ago — Cheng Lei, a former business anchor of China's state broadcaster ... China say Australian journalist detained over 'national security risks'.
6 hours ago — Cheng Lei, a former CGTN host, was detained in 2020. The Chinese authorities have accused her of divulging state secrets but offered no ...
8 hours ago — A closed door trial of Australian journalist Cheng Lei has started in Beijing over allegations of espionage. The Australian ambassador was ...
11 hours ago — A Beijing court is holding a closed-door trial for Australian journalist and former TV anchor Cheng Lei, in a high-profile diplomatic case.
6 hours ago — The high-profile criminal trial of Australian-Chinese television anchorwoman Cheng Lei began Thursday behind closed doors in a Beijing ...
10 hours ago — Cheng Lei, a high-profile television anchor for Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, was detained in August 2020. Australian journalist Cheng Lei ...
8 hours ago — D. iplomats have been refused entry to the trial of an Australian journalist accused of spying in China. Cheng Lei went on trial on Thursday ...
4 hours ago — BEIJING (AP) — The trial of Chinese Australian journalist Cheng Lei on espionage charges began Thursday in Beijing, with diplomats denied ...
11 hours ago — Australian journalist Cheng Lei has faced a closed-door trial in China after 18 months in detention over accusations of supplying state ...
5 hours ago — Chinese Australian journalist Cheng Lei went on trial in Beijing on Thursday on espionage charges, with diplomats denied permission to ...
13 hours ago — Australian academic and former Iranian detainee Kyle Moore-Gilbert says the trial of detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei will be “just as ...
6 hours ago — Officials in Beijing have barred an ambassador from the court where a Chinese-Australian journalist faces charges of handing over state ...
