Reuters-Australian journalist Cheng Lei back home after China release
October 11, 2023 3 min 456 words
这则报道带来了一个振奋人心的消息，澳大利亚记者程蕾在被中国扣押三年多后成功获释并回到家中。这是一个好消息，标志着一个家庭的团聚和一个国家的努力，以保护自己的公民。程蕾的经历凸显了中澳外交紧张关系下的复杂情况。她的秘密审判引发了广泛关注，而她在拘留期间的孤独和思念也引起了共鸣。 澳大利亚政府的坚定努力和外交压力的释放，对程蕾的释放起到了积极作用。然而，这一事件也提醒我们，澳大利亚等国在与中国这样的国家打交道时必须保持谨慎，以避免未来类似事件的发生。 还有一名澳大利亚记者杨恒均仍然被拘押，澳大利亚政府需要继续争取他的释放。总的来说，这是一个让人鼓舞的消息，也是外交对话和努力的胜利，但也呼吁国际社会共同努力，以确保新闻自由和人权得到维护。
Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who had been detained on national security charges in Beijing for more than three years, returned home on Wednesday after being released, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Cheng, who was tried in secret in March 2022, arrived in Melbourne and has been reunited with her two children and family, Albanese told a press conference.
"(The) government has been seeking this for a long period of time and her return will be warmly welcomed not just by her family and friends but by all Australians," he said.
Her release follows the completion of legal processes in China, he said. There was no immediate comment from the judiciary in China.
Cheng, 48, was a business television anchor for Chinese state television when she was detained in August 2020 for allegedly sharing state secrets with another country.
Australia had repeatedly raised concerns about her detention, which came as China widened blocks on Australian exports amid a diplomatic dispute that is gradually easing.
"She is a very strong and resilient person," said Albanese, who said he has spoken to Cheng.
In a letter to Australia released publicly in August, Cheng wrote of missing her children aged 11 and 14, who have been living in Melbourne with their grandmother while she was detained.
"In my cell, the sunlight shines through the window but I can stand in it for only 10 hours a year," she wrote in what she called a "love letter to 25 million people", her first public statement since her arrest.
"I haven't seen a tree in three years. I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets. I secretly mouth the names of places I've visited and driven through."
Albanese said Australia "continued to advocate" for another detained Australian journalist, Yang Hengjun, who has been held since January 2019.
Albanese said he expected to visit China this year and told reporters dialogue with China was "a good thing".
There had been public pressure on Albanese to secure Cheng's release before any official visit to Australia's biggest trading partner.