Detained Chinese-Australian journalist to face trial in Chinese court on Thursday

Cheng Lei, a Chinese-Australian journalist, held in China since August 2020, will face trial on Thursday, the Australian government said.

Cheng Lei, a prominent journalist for China's state-run international network CGTN, was initially detained and later formally arrested on suspicion of supplying state secrets overseas. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne in a statement posted online informed about her trial reported VOA News.

"We expect basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met, in accordance with international norms," the statement said.

According to the statement by Payne, the government officials last visited her on March 21 and asked to be allowed to attend the trial.

Calling for her release, the National Press Clubs of the United States and Australia as well as the journalist's former CGTN colleagues and friends wrote open letters last year.

"Cheng Lei's yearlong detention is an assault on journalism and on human rights," a U.S. National Press Club statement said.

Cheng was born in China and graduated from the University of Queensland. Before becoming a journalist, she worked as an accountant and financial analyst in Australia for Cadbury Schweppes and ExxonMobil from 1995 to 2000, according to her CGTN profile.

She moved to China in 2001 and joined state broadcaster CCTV the following year. Then she was the China correspondent for CNBC Asia for nine years before returning to CCTV in 2012. She was the anchor of a business program on CGTN, the state broadcaster's international arm, reported to the news portal.

( With inputs from ANI )