OREANDA-NEWS. Australian journalist Cheng Lei was arrested in China after six months of detention. She is suspected of transferring state secrets abroad. According to the head of the Australian Foreign Ministry, Maris Payne, the Chinese authorities detained the woman on August 13, 2020. The Australian Government has repeatedly expressed it's concern about Cheng Lei's detention, and representatives of the country's embassy have visited her six times.

«We expect, that the basic standards of fairness, fair trial and humane treatment will be met in accordance with international standards», Payne said.

The arrested woman worked as a presenter in the Chinese English-language TV channel CGTN. Her friends became concerned when she stopped responding. The Chinese authorities announced her detention on August 14. Cheng became an Australian citizen in 2003. She is bilingual in English and Mandarin.

This is not the first scandal involving CGTN. The UK authorities have deprived the TV channel of it's broadcasting license due to the fact that editorial line was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.