China formally arrests Australian TV anchor on espionage charges

China formally arrested a Chinese-born Australian journalist from CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television, on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets abroad, Australia’s foreign minister said on Monday. Cheng Lei’s arrest last Friday opened an official criminal investigation and took place six months after his arrest.

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

“We hope that the basic standards of justice, procedural equity and humane treatment are met, in accordance with international standards,” he added.

China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Cheng’s arrest and said his legal rights were being “fully guaranteed”.

“We hope that Australia sincerely respects China’s judicial sovereignty and refrains from interfering in handling cases based on China’s law in any way,” said ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a daily briefing.

The charges, which could result in life imprisonment or even death, are highly unusual for an official in a media tightly controlled by the Communist Party of China. British media watchdog Ofcom last week withdrew CGTN from its UK broadcasting license due to a lack of editorial control and is investigating allegations that it has enforced forced confessions of suspects involved in political cases.

The worsening of bilateral relations since Australia called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic is suspected to be the cause of Cheng’s arrest.

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

“I feel like children don’t fully understand the situation, so it’s probably very difficult for children to ask themselves what’s going on,” said Wen. “Every time we do something fun, we’re thinking about her and how she can’t enjoy these things with us.”

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

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

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

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

Australian Broadcasting Corp. reporter Bill Birtles and The Australian Financial Review’s Michael Smith were told they were “people of interest” in an investigation into Cheng.

“I believe the episode was more of a harassment to the remaining Australian journalists than a genuine effort to try to get something useful for the case,” said Birtles after returning to Sydney.

Australia criticized China for accusing Chinese-Australian spy writer Yang Hengjun of espionage. He has been in detention since January 2019.

Australian Karm Gilespie was sentenced to death in China last year, seven years after he was arrested and accused of trying to board an international flight containing more than 7.5 kg (16.5 pounds) of methamphetamine. Some observers suspect that such a severe sentence long after the crime was related to the bilateral split.

Cheng was the anchor of 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 with CCTV in Beijing in 2003.