China formally arrests Australian TV anchor over espionage allegations

China has formally arrested a Chinese-born Australian journalist for CGTN, the English-speaking channel of China Central Television, on suspicion of illegally providing state secrets abroad, the Australian foreign minister said on Monday. Cheng Lei’s arrest last Friday begins with an official criminal investigation and comes six months after she was detained.

“The Australian Government has expressed its serious concern about the detention of Ms Cheng at senior levels, including her welfare and conditions of detention,” said Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

“We expect basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be adhered to, in line with international standards,” she added.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed Cheng’s arrest, saying her legal rights were “fully guaranteed”.

“We hope that Australia will seriously respect the judicial sovereignty of China and in no way interfere with the legal handling of cases in China,” Wang Wenbin, the ministry’s spokesperson, said during a daily briefing.

The charges, which could lead to life in prison or even death, are very unusual for an employee of a media contract strictly controlled by China’s ruling Communist Party. British media watchdog Ofcom stripped CGTN of its UK broadcasting license last week for lack of editorial control and investigating complaints that it made forced confessions by suspects involved in political affairs.

The deteriorating bilateral relations since Australia requested an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic are thought to be the cause of Cheng’s arrest.

Cheng’s two children aged 9 and 11 live with their grandmother in Melbourne, Australia, said the niece of journalist Louisa Wen.

“I feel like the kids don’t quite understand the situation, and it’s probably hard for the kids to wonder what’s going on,” Wen said. “Every time we do something nice, we think of her and how she can not enjoy these things with us.”

Geoff Raby, CEO of a Beijing-based business consulting firm, said Cheng has been his friend since he was Australia’s ambassador to China for four years and ended in 2011.

“She knows how the system works. She is very, very knowledgeable and experienced and I find this whole episode just amazing,” Raby told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

A month before Cheng was detained on August 13, Australia warned its citizens against a risk of arbitrary detention in China. China dismissed the warning as disinformation.

Before the last two journalists working for the Australian media in China left the country in September, they were questioned by Chinese authorities about Cheng.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. reporters Bill Birtles and Michael Smith, The Australian Financial Review, said they were ‘persons of interest’ in an investigation into Cheng.

“I believe the episode was more of a harassment of the remaining Australian journalists, rather than a sincere attempt to find something useful for the cause,” Birtles said after returning to Sydney.

Australia criticized China for accusing Chinese and Australian espionage writer Yang Hengjun of espionage. He has been detained since January 2019.

Australian Carm Gilespie was sentenced to death in China last year, seven years after he was arrested and charged with attempting to embark on an international flight with more than 7.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. Some observers suspect that such a severe sentence so long after the crime is related to the bilateral breach.

Cheng was an anchor for CGTN’s BizAsia program. She was born in China and worked in finance in Australia before returning to China and starting a career in journalism at CCTV in Beijing in 2003.