Australian journalist Cheng Lei says China indifferent to condemnation from international community, subtle approach required

Australian journalist Cheng Lei says while in detention in China, when the AUKUS deal was announced, “there started to be more negative news about Australia”.

Australia must defend democracy against the rise of authoritarian regimes – but when dealing with China should deploy a nuanced approach rather than engage in public tit-for-tat, freed Australian journalist Cheng Lei says.

Ms Cheng, who was detained by Chinese authorities for three years until her release in October 2023, said the Chinese regime is “just as dangerous – if not more” than other authoritarian regimes around the world.

But it operates in a more subtle way than administrations like Russia, and requires a different strategic approach – one which she said was used by the Australian government to successfully secure her release last year.

Journalist Cheng Lei will host a panel at the Defending Australia summit in Canberra on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

“In the west, we’re used to a very direct and blunt approach,” she said.

“But in China, it tends to be (that) we shake hands on stage and then we trade blows in the private room.”

Ms Cheng said such the Xi regime had also become numb to public condemnation from the international community.

Instead, Australia can use other, more private strategies – such as “people-to-people exchanges, military forums and academic collaboration” – to influence China.

“We can show them that this is really not working for them, and it would not work for them to try for an invasion,” she said.

“Because you can’t brainwash the rest of the world.”

Ms Cheng said democratic countries – like Australia and Taiwan – had the advantage of “soft power” over China.

“All the things that Taiwan has, that we have, aren’t available in China – like freedom of speech, like independence of the media,” she said.

She added that people are sometimes won over by technological advancements and relative prosperity of China without fully understanding the realities of an authoritarian regime.

“What you don’t see, which is part of what I experienced, really underscores the difference,” she said.

“I can’t emphasise how important freedom is.”

Ms Cheng will host a panel at the Defending Australia summit in Canberra on Tuesday, which will focus on the race to build Australia’s military capability in a time or rising global instability and uncertainty.

She said China will feel threatened by the nuclear submarines set to be built under the AUKUS deal, as well as by the Australia-US-UK alliance.

“What I noticed in detention was that as soon as AUKUS was signed, there started to be more negative news about Australia, which is always a sign of how the government felt,” she said.

“The AUKUS deal was talked about on state news with great disdain and condemnation – as if China wasn’t ramping up its own defence capabilities at all.”

Originally published as Australian journalist Cheng Lei says China indifferent to condemnation from international community, subtle approach required