Aussie envoy denied entry to Cheng Lei ‘secret’ trial

Australia’s ambassador to China said he has ‘no confidence’ in Beijing’s secret trial of Cheng Lei as Foreign Minister Marise Payne says ‘Australia stands by’ the journalist.

Australian Chinese Journalist Cheng Lei is accused of leaking state secrets. Picture – Supplied

Australia’s ambassador to China said he has “no confidence in the validity” of Beijing’s secret trial of Australian journalist Cheng Lei.

The closed hearing against the mother of two finished less than three hours after it began on Thursday morning in Beijing. A verdict has been deferred.

Ms Cheng, 46, was escorted to court in full plastic PPE suit from the Beijing detention facility where she has spent almost 600 days in detention in often brutal conditions.

Half an hour before the trial began, Australia’s top diplomat in China was denied entry to the court.

Australia’s ambassador Graham Fletcher told a press pack ringed by Chinese police and plain clothes security agents that his rejection was in breach of Canberra’s consular agreement with Beijing.

“It’s deeply concerning, unsatisfactory and regrettable,” said Mr Fletcher, speaking outside Beijing’s Number 2 Intermediate People’s Court.

“We can have no confidence in the validity of a process which is conducted in secret.”

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said it was “regrettable” that Australia’s envoy was not allowed to observe the University of Queensland graduate’s case.

“The continuing lack of transparency is concerning and further undermines confidence,” Senator Payne said.

“We will continue to provide consular assistance to Ms Cheng … and to advocate for her rights, including for her to be able to speak to her two young children in Australia, with whom she has had no contact since her detention in 2020.

“Australia stands by Ms Cheng and her family at this difficult time,” she said.

Australian Ambassador to China Graham Fletcher waits outside the Beijing No. 2 People's Intermediate Court, before being denied entry. Picture: AFP.

Chinese authorities have ­accused Cheng – one of the most high-profile Australians in China – of “supplying or intending to supply state secrets or intelligence to an overseas organisation or ­individual”.

Charges over “state secrets” – an extremely broad offence in China – generally range from five to 10 years in prison, but life sentences are possible.

China’s opaque court system has a 99 per cent conviction rate.

Mr Fletcher said the Australian government had still not been given any details about the charges against the television anchor, who was detained in Beijing in August 2020.

“We have no information about the charges or allegations against Ms Cheng … That is part of the reason we’re so concerned because we have no basis on which to understand why she’s been detained.”

Australian diplomats have been allowed to have monthly video meetings with Cheng during which she is led into a room wearing a hood and is strapped to a chair with a board across her lap.

They have not been allowed to discuss her case.

Mr Fletcher said “considering the circumstances” the former Chinese state television host was “bearing okay” at their most recent consular meeting, held last week before the trial date was revealed.

In a statement released before the trial, Cheng’s family thanked the Australian government for its ongoing support.

“Her two children and elderly parents miss her immensely and sincerely hope to reunite with her as soon as possible,” the ­family said.

The arrests of Ms Cheng and fellow imprisoned Australian writer Yang Hengjun have both occurred during an unresolved period of huge tension in the bilateral relationship.

They have heightened security concerns for Australians in China.

Warwick Smith, who for decades has been involved in some of Australia’s most successful business operations in China, said her ordeal had been hugely damaging for China’s reputation in Australia.

“Graham Fletcher’s done a sterling job, but he can’t even get a bloody audience. It’s just wrong,” Mr Smith told The Australian.

He said the Chinese government had inflicted huge reputational damage on itself by trying to “hide behind a security blanket” when asked about the case.

“It’s not right, it’s not fair and we should be ­allowed to criticise it.”