After more than three years in jail in China, Australian journalist Cheng Lei has returned to Australia.
Cheng was “elated” to be returning home, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who earlier today greeted Cheng at the airport with Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
“I was able to have a conversation with an Australian citizen, Cheng Lei, who has arrived safely here in Melbourne and has been reunited with her two children and her family,” Albanese stated.
A very trying few years for Ms. Cheng and her family come to an end with her return.
Her return will be enthusiastically embraced by all Australians, not just her family and friends, as the government has long sought.
“Our focus remains on her interests and welfare and we are asking for her privacy and that of her family be respected at this time as she adjusts to what has obviously been a very difficult and traumatic period for her in her life.”
Lei, a mother of two and business anchor for China’s state-run CGTN, was charged with illegally leaking state secrets, which she vehemently disputed. In August 2020, she was held due to the allegations.
Since Cheng was arrested, according to Albanese, the Australian government has been pressing for her release.
“We know that this has been the subject of ongoing discussions between the Australian and Chinese governments and we have continued to make representations on behalf of Australian citizens,” he stated.
“Her matter was concluded through the legal processes in China.”We have long fought for this, so I think it’s fair to say that I honour everyone who has intervened on their behalf.
