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Updated February 8th, 2021 at 16:38 IST

Chinese-Australian reporter allegedly spread Chinese secrets

Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday confirmed the formal arrest of Cheng Lei, a Chinese-born Australian journalist for CGTN.

Chinese-Australian reporter allegedly spread Chinese secrets
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Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday confirmed the formal arrest of Cheng Lei, a Chinese-born Australian journalist for CGTN.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily briefing Monday that Chinese judicial authority approved the arrest of Cheng Lei on February 5th on suspicion of "illegally providing state secrets to foreign countries."

"Various rights of the person involved have been fully guaranteed," said Wang.

The arrest of Cheng Lei last Friday starts an official criminal investigation and came six months after she was detained.

The cause of Cheng's arrest is suspected to be the worsening bilateral relations since Australia called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

A month before Cheng was detained on August 13, Australia warned its citizens of a risk of arbitrary detention in China.

China dismissed the warning as disinformation.

Cheng was an anchor for CGTN's BizAsia program.

She was born in China and worked in finance in Australia before returning to China and starting a career in journalism with CCTV in Beijing in 2003.

 

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Published February 8th, 2021 at 16:38 IST

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