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CANBERRA, Australia: This week, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who had been detained in China on national security charges for more than three years, returned to Melbourne after being released.
A business television anchor for Chinese state television, Cheng, 48, was detained in August 2020 for allegedly sharing state secrets with another country and tried in secret in March 2022.
“Tight hugs, teary screams, holding my kids in the spring sunshine. Trees shimmy from the breeze. I can see the entirety of the sky now! Thank you, Aussies,” Cheng wrote on social media.
His government had been seeking for Cheng to be reunited with her children “for a long period of time, and her return will be warmly welcomed not just by her family and friends but by all Australians,” Albanese said.
Her release follows the completion of legal processes in China, he added.
Giving details on the charges against Cheng for the first time, China’s State Security Ministry said she pleaded guilty to charges of illegally sending state secrets abroad related to her work for a state media outlet.
She was deported after serving her sentence of two years and 11 months, the ministry added.
“She is a very strong and resilient person,” said Albanese, noting he has spoken to Cheng and welcomed her home on behalf of the country.
Albanese had faced public pressure to secure Cheng’s release before any official visit to China.
China has previously detained foreign nationals on national security charges, including two Canadians who were detained for more than three years on espionage charges and released in September 2021 after Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou reached a deal with U.S. prosecutors.
Beijing had denied their arrests were linked.
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