‘Stop interfering’ warning as China formally arrests Australian journalist Cheng Lei in Beijing

China issues warning to Australia as Cheng Lei, detained for six months on suspicion of sharing China state secrets, is arrested.

Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been detained since August.

China’s foreign ministry has told Australia to ‘stop interfering’ and ‘respect judicial sovereignty’ after Australian journalist Cheng Lei was formally arrested by Chinese authorities after six months of detention on suspicion of sharing state secrets overseas.

The former CGTN television network anchor has been denied access to her lawyer since being taken from her Beijing apartment on August 13, sources familiar with the matter said.

The formal arrest was made less than two months after Haze Fan — a Beijing-based journalist at Bloomberg and close friend of Cheng — was detained on suspicion of endangering national security. “We are absolutely convinced of her innocence,” said Cheng’s family in a statement.

They asked that she be able to have contact with her 11-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son, who are being cared for by their grandmother in Melbourne.

“Out of respect for the judicial process in China, we will not be commenting further on her arrest and detention at this time.”

The University of Queensland graduate’s ongoing detention — in a cell with no fresh air and a security guard present at all times — has come during the worst period in Australia’s relationship with China since diplomatic relations began in 1972.

‘Stop interfering’

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on Monday said Cheng had been formally arrested on “suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas”.

“We expect basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met, in accordance with international norms,” Senator Payne said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said: “China’s judicial authorities have been dealing with cases independently and the rights of the person involved are fully protected.

“We hope the Australian side will respect China’s judicial sovereignty and stop interfering in China’s handling of cases in accordance with law in any form,” the spokesman said on Monday evening in Beijing.

Friends fear retaliation

One of the most prominent Australians in China, Cheng is widely known among the Australian business, political and diplomatic communities.

Warwick Smith, who heads the Business Council of Australia’s China Leadership Group, said he had visited China’s ambassador in Canberra, Cheng Jingye, before Christmas to convey the widespread concern about her case. “I’m really disturbed,” said Mr Smith, an adviser to Seven billionaire Kerry Stokes. “Why has an Australian been picked out?”

Many friends of Cheng declined to speak on the record for fear of retaliation from the Chinese government.

Daryl Guppy, a board member of the Australia China Business Council, first met the broadcaster 20 years ago when she was a Singapore-based presenter on CNBC. “There was no better unofficial ambassador in China for Australia than Cheng Lei,” Mr Guppy told The Australian.

“She’s a journalist at heart. She’s interested in getting to the guts of the story … and that’s probably what got her into trouble.”

‘May be retribution involved’

Mr Guppy — who writes a weekly column for CGTN — noted Cheng’s detention came weeks after four Australian-based Chinese state media journalists were raided by security agencies.

“There may be some retribution involved,” Mr Guppy said.

A statement last August by Senator Payne on Cheng’s detention seemingly triggered the dramatic escape of the last two journalists working in mainland China.

Australian embassy officials last met Cheng on January 27, their sixth monthly visit since she was detained. Sources involved with Cheng’s case hoped she might be moved to a less harsh detention facility now that she has been formally arrested.

Charges — almost inevitable in the Chinese system once a formal arrest has been made — could take another seven months.

A lawyer in Beijing familiar with similar cases said the time until a trial was uncertain. The lawyer, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said as a “state security” case, the trial would be closed.

Sentences for such cases range from three years to life or even the death penalty in extreme cases.

Louisa Wen, Cheng’s niece, told the ABC the journalist’s two children did not fully understand their mother’s situation. “It’s probably quite tough on the kids wondering what’s going on,” she said.

“Every time we do something fun, we’re thinking of her and how she can’t enjoy these things with us,” Ms Wen said on Monday.