China frees Australian reporter Cheng Lei after three years

[BeatMan]

SYDNEY: Australian journalist Cheng Lei was deported from China on Wednesday (Oct 11) after more than three years in detention on espionage charges widely seen as politically motivated.

Cheng, a former anchor for Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, had been held since August 2020.

The mother of two had been a familiar face on the state broadcaster's English-language channel, conducting interviews with noted CEOs from around the world.

She was only formally arrested months after disappearing, and in an opaque case was eventually charged with "supplying state secrets overseas".

"Her return brings an end to a very difficult few years," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, hailing her return home as news that "will be warmly welcomed, not just by her family and friends, but by all Australians".

Cheng was detained at a time of strained relations between Beijing and Canberra, with her rough treatment souring relations further.

China has repeatedly detained foreign nationals at times of high political tension with their home nations, raising accusations of hostage diplomacy.



https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asi...lei-released-china-jail-state-secrets-3837231

 

[colddiesel]

I suspect that the release was substantially due to the work of Penny Wong the Aussie Foreign Minister. Wong is the Chinese speaking daughter of an Australian mother and a Chinese/Indonesian Father. Commonly regarded as Australia's outstanding politician who tends to keep most things as low key as possible, Wong is very popular, almost extraordinarily so, considering that she is a lesbian mother of one, in addition to her foreign born mixed heritage.