Canberra demands justice for Chinese-Australian journalist detained in China
Sydney, Australia, Aug 13 (EFE).- Australian on Friday demanded China adhere to basic standards of justice and humane treatment stipulated by international norms in the case of the Chinese-Australian journalist Cheng Lei, exactly one year after she was detained by Beijing.
“We are particularly concerned that one year into her detention, there remains a lack of transparency about the reasons for Ms Cheng’s detention,” Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement.
The 46-year-old host on the state China Global Television Network (CGTN) was arrested on suspicion of “illegally supplying state secrets overseas,” although she has yet to be formally charged.
The National Press Club of Australia also called for Cheng’s release and urged China to “show compassion.”
“We are gravely concerned that she has been held in detention without facing an open court since being detained on August 13 last year,” the association said in a statement on Thursday, while also expressing concern about the her “health, safety and security.”
In addition to Cheng’s case, the Australian government is closely following the detention of Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun, a former official of the Chinese foreign ministry who was arrested in January 2019 in the southeastern Chinese city of Guangzhou while on a stopover on his way to Australia.
Yang, whose closed-door trial ended in May, is awaiting sentencing on espionage charges. He could face the death penalty if found guilty. EFE
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