Cheng’s arrest sent shock waves through the foreign community in China because of the haziness surrounding her case and the detention of several other foreigners at the time.
Cheng Lei, a Chinese-born Australian journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television, attends an event in Beijing in August 2020. and mother of two, was set to take place in Beijing on Thursday, 19 months after she was detained on charges of providing state secrets to foreigners.Australia’s ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher, and other Australian diplomats attempted to attend the trial Thursday morning but were denied entry.
Asked about Cheng’s case on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the judiciary handles cases in accordance with the law. The ministry previouslyshe is suspected of “illegally providing state secrets to foreign forces,” but has not disclosed further details. Australian officials have regularly raised concerns about Cheng’s welfare and most recently visited her on March 21, according toAround the same time that Beijing announced the charges against Cheng in September 2020, China’s Foreign Ministry said that Australian officials in June had