Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist detained by the Chinese government in Beijing, has written a “love letter” to Australians and her home country.
The former reporter for China’s English-language news service CTGN is currently being held in strict conditions in the state’s capital, with little to no contact with the outside world.
As this month marks three years since Lei’s arrest and detention, Lei has expressed how much she misses home in an open letter dictated to diplomats, who have contact with her every month.
“G’day Aussies, excuse the daggy slang from someone in need of ‘ockerism’,” the 48-year-old said.
“This is a love letter to 25 million people and 7 million square kilometres of land, land abundant in nature, beauty and space.
“It is not the same in here, I haven’t seen a tree in three years.”
Throughout the letter, Lei recalls the natural beauties of Australia, including the bushwalks, rivers, lakes, beaches and sunsets, a privilege she is not afforded in the Beijing prison.
“I miss the sun. In my cell, the sunlight shines through the window but I can stand in it for only 10 hours a year,” she said.
“I can’t believe I used to avoid the sun when I was living back in Australia, although knowing Melbourne weather, it will probably rain for the first two weeks after I return.”
In 1985, when Lei was just 10 years old, she migrated to Australia with her parents. She began a career in accounting in 1995, before switching to journalism.
Beginning as an intern at CTGN (formerly known as CCTV) in 2002, Lei has reported on major events, including the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and interviewed high profile people, like Bill Gates.
On August 14, 2020, the Australian government received an official notice of Lei’s arrest and detention. The Chinese government cited passing on “state secrets” as the reason for the journalist’s arrest, an allegation which Lei has denied.
The journalist spent the first six months in solitary confinement and is reported to be held in Residential Surveillance at a Dedicated Facility (RSDF), where she has no contact with the outside world, including her partner of eight years, Nick Coyle, and her two children, now 12 and 14 years old.
“Most of all, I miss my children,” she wrote in the final line of the letter.
Last year in March, Lei was tried in a closed court, which Australia’s ambassador to China Graham Fletcher tried unsuccessfully to gain entry to. The trial lasted less than a day.
Since then, Lei has been waiting for sentencing in the RSDF facility.
In a statement, Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong acknowledged Lei’s ordeal and said Australia will continue to support her and her family.
“I want to acknowledge Ms Cheng’s strength, and the strength of her family and friends through this period,” Minister Wong said.
“Ms Cheng’s message to the public makes clear her deep love for our country. All Australians want to see her reunited with her children.
“Australia has consistently advocated for Ms Cheng, and asked that basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met for Ms Cheng, in accordance with international norms.”
The Chinese embassy told the ABC’s 7.30: “China is under the rule of law. China’s judicial authorities have handled the case in accordance with the law, and the lawful rights of Cheng are under full protection.”