Detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei wrote diary about the COVID-19 pandemic in China
Did Aussie broadcaster’s DIARY get her arrested? Acclaimed TV presenter and mother-of-two kept journal of Beijing’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and ‘mocked’ the Communist Party on Facebook
- An Australian television presenter Cheng Lei has been detained in Beijing
- She wrote a series of Facebook posts mocking the Chinese Communist Party
- Social media messages highlighted hypocrisy of authoritarian regime in Wuhan
- She hosted Biz Talk show on the state-owned China Global Television Network
By Stephen Johnson For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 19:15 EDT, 31 August 2020 | Updated: 01:05 EDT, 1 September 2020
An Australian journalist who kept a diary of the coronavirus pandemic has been arrested in China with no reasons given.
Cheng Lei, an English-language presenter with the state-owned China Global Television Network since 2012, wrote withering Facebook posts about the Communist Party.
The Beijing-based business journalist, who studied in Brisbane and Melbourne, mocked the earlier lockdown in Wuhan in March.
‘The hottest word in Chinese social media is “gratitude”, brought up by Wang Zhonglin the Wuhan party secretary at a press conference two days ago, in the context of asking Wuhan residents to be be “grateful (to the party, to Dear Leader)”,’ she wrote.
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Beijing-based Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who kept a diary of the coronavirus pandemic, has been arrested in China
‘It immediately blew up the internet. Even in China, where the pool of material for satire never runs low, this is too rich.’
The host of CGTN’s Biz Talk TV show also slammed the hypocritical nature of China’s Communist Party leadership.
‘In China, the belief “do as I say, not as I do” runs deep in public office,’ she said on March 8.
‘”Serve the people” goes the slogans, reality is the opposite.
‘On today, International Women’s Day, the joke is why do you never need a Leaders’ day? Officials’ day? Cadres’ day? That’ll be the day.’
Two days earlier, on March 6, she mocked the Communist Party’s Wuhan lockdowns.
‘Chednecks (China-rednecks) slapping each other on the back about how awesome China’s heavy measures are vs Chinkers (Chinese thinkers) who do not see the sacrifices in Wuhan as anything worth celebrating, who see respect for science and a balance between personal liberty and restrictive measures behind the best approaches,’ she said.
The outspoken TV presenter’s profile has now been removed from the CGTN website, after eight years with the network.
Her Twitter page links to her CGTN segments, up to July, have also been taken down.
She was previously the Asia correspondent for the American CNBC business channel.
Cheng Lei, an English-language presenter with the China Global Television Network in Beijing, wrote withering Facebook posts about the Communist Party
The host of CGTN’s Biz Talk TV show also slammed the hypocritical nature of China’s Communist Party leadership
Her detention in China is further straining relations between Australia and its biggest trading partner.
Cheng did a commerce degree at the University of Queensland and has two children in Melbourne.
Friends and family have been unable to contact her for weeks and her Facebook account appears to have been inactive since March.
The Australian government has confirmed she has been in custody since August 14.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham used restrained language to confirm her arrest.
‘We had consular access via video link on 27 August and continue to provide appropriate consular assistance,’ he said on Tuesday.
‘We equally are working with her family, who have issued a statement acknowledging they respect the process, and are urging people to respect their privacy and limit comment at this time.’
Cheng did a commerce degree at the University of Queensland and has two children in Melbourne. Her profile has since been removed from the CGTN website
Cheng has been the host of CGTN’s English-language Biz Talk program since December 2012
No reason has been provided for her detention in the authoritarian, one-party state.
Under Chinese law, she could be held for months in a secret location without charge.
Confirmation of her detention came on the same day China announced a second inquiry into Australian wine exports.
Senator Birmingham said various issues were weighing on the ‘vast and complex’ relationship between Australia and China.
‘There are obviously some issues of difficulty that arise from time to time. They have always arisen,’ he said.
‘There have long been different and difficult consular cases that exist in the Chinese relationship.
‘There have always been other points of tension, be they on human rights or other matters.
Ms Cheng did a commerce degree at the University of Queensland and has two children in Melbourne
‘But we continue to be committed to working as closely as we can and particularly in the areas of mutual interest and advantage for our two nations.’
China is furious with Australia for demanding an independent inquiry into the origins of coronavirus, with its ambassador in Canberra Cheng Jingye in April warning of Chinese consumer boycotts.
Beijing has imposed new import restrictions on Australian beef, barley and wine, and is slow to return phone calls from Australian ministers.
In an online video for the Australia Global Alumni posted two years ago, Cheng described herself as an anchor for the global business show on CGTN.
Cheng also speaks Mandarin, was born in China and grew up in the Chinese city of Yueyang.
She graduated from the University of Queensland in 1995 before working for Cadbury Schweppes and ExxonMobil in Australia.
After moving to China, Cheng – who speaks with a distinct Australian accent – worked for the Chinese state broadcaster, the country’s biggest TV network
Her detention in China is further straining relations between Australia and its biggest trading partner
‘The beauty of an Australian education is not about what is taught but more about what it doesn’t teach,’ she said.
‘It doesn’t teach you to just follow orders, it allows you the freedom to think for yourself, to question … to judge for yourself.’
After moving back to China, Cheng – who speaks with an Australian accent – worked for the Chinese state broadcaster, the country’s biggest TV network.
Her family have issued a brief statement.
‘In China, due process will be observed and we look forward to a satisfactory and timely conclusion to the matter,’ the family said.
Cheng’s detainment follows the detention of Australian academic Yang Hengjun.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has previously called for the immediate release of Dr Yang, who could face the death penalty if found guilty of spying charges.
He was detained in January 2019 and has been held since with limited consular contact.
