Cheng Lei, the Australian journalist, has flown back to Melbourne on Wednesday after being released from detention in China, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Australian Prime Minister said that he had met with the former prisoner in Melbourne and that she had been reunited with her two children.
At a press conference, Albanese said, “Her return brings an end to a very difficult few years for Cheng and her family.”
The recent release is a significant sign of diplomatic warming between Australia and China. Cheng was imprisoned in China in 2020 on espionage accusations, and Canberra has repeatedly called for her release.
Cheng Li is a former anchor for CGTN, the Chinese state broadcaster, who has been jailed since August 2020 but was officially detained in February 2021. She was formally charged with providing state secrets abroad but no other details have been provided yet.
Cheng expressed her jail conditions in a note to Australian officials, saying she misses sunlight and trees but “most of all I miss my kids”.
Nick Coyle, a fellow of Cheng, shares the following message through platform X.
When Albanese was asked about Cheng’s welfare, he said, “I surely am, and Cheng should be freed. This is three years too long.”
During a visit to Queensland, Albanese told reporters that Cheng Li is an Australian citizen. She doesn’t deserve this bad treatment. He added that Australia had pressured Cheng’s freedom at the “highest levels” and would continue to do so “whenever Canberra meets with Beijing”.
