China Releases Australian Journalist after Three Years of Detainment

Cheng Lei speaking on CGTN Europe on 6 November 2019 | Source: Flickr

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist detained in Beijing since August 2020, was officially released and returned to Australia on October 11. It has been over three years since Lei’s arrest, and China has yet to comment on the issue. Lei’s recent release marks the alleviation of diplomatic tension between China and Australia that has been ongoing and intensified since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Lei was born in Hunan Province in China and migrated to Australia when she was young. She was a host for English business news on Chinese state-run television, CGTN, a network that connects China and Australia. In August 2020, she was detained in Beijing. The Australian public broadcaster, ABC, stated that she was under “residential surveillance,” an ambiguous authoritative action that enables Chinese authorities to hold detainees in uncommunicative custody for up to six months while rejecting requested visits from family members and lawyers. In 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially revealed that Lei was arrested for a national security crime. 

Along with the release of Lei on October 11, China’s foreign ministry reported that Lei had been sentenced to imprisonment. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, stated, “After a trial, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Cheng Lei to two years and 11 months of imprisonment and deportation for illegally providing state secrets to an overseas party. After serving her sentence, Cheng Lei was deported out of the country by the Beijing Municipal State Security Bureau in accordance with the law.”

Lei’s detainment, imprisonment, and release reflect the relationship between China and Australia in the past three years. The bilateral relationship worsened when Australia’s then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison encouraged the investigation of COVID-19’s origins in April 2020. Later, in November 2020, the Chinese embassy delivered a list of 14 grievances to Canberra. This list included the condemnation of government funding for “anti-China” research, the banning of Huawei from the 5G network, and the blocking of 10 Chinese foreign investment deals.

In response to Canberra’s lack of dialogue on the grievances, China began imposing sanctions and tariffs on Australian goods, arresting Australians in China, and publicly denouncing Australia via the state media. Still, Australia remained critical of Chinese foreign policy.
Lei’s sudden release signifies China’s hopeful willingness to improve its relationship with Australia. China’s ambassador to Australia said, “It was necessary to maintain the momentum of stability and improvement in relations, adding that China regarded Australia as a friend, and Australia had no reason to regard China as a threat.” At the same time, analysts claim that the release of Lei is unlikely to shift Australia’s policies regarding the opposition to China’s military build-up.