Australian journalist Cheng Lei is “holding her kids in the Spring sunshine” after being released from a Chinese prison and returned safely to Melbourne, following a three-year detainment.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong met Lei at the airport in Melbourne, who said it was an “honour” to welcome her home.
In a statement posted on X via her partner Nick Coyle’s activist page @FreeChengLei, Lei described what a relief it was to be free and reunited with her two children and family.
“Tight hugs, teary screams, holding my kids in the spring sunshine,” she said.
“Trees shimmy from the breeze. I can see the entirety of the sky now! Thank you Aussies.”
All Australians will be relieved to hear that Ms Cheng Lei has returned to her family after more than three years apart.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) October 11, 2023
The Government has consistently advocated for Ms Cheng since her detention in August 2020.
An honour to welcome her home to Australia today. pic.twitter.com/qIANwN7J2T
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed reporters in a press conference in Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon, revealing the journalist’s release and journey back to Australia.
“Earlier today, I was able to have a conversation with an Australian citizen, Cheng Lei, who has arrived safely here in Melbourne and has been reunited with her two children and her family,” he said.
“Her return brings an end to a very difficult few years for Ms Cheng and her family.
“This is an outcome that the Australian government has been seeking for a long period of time and her return will be warmly welcomed – not just by her family and friends, but by all Australians.”
I am pleased to confirm that Ms Cheng Lei has arrived safely home in Australia, and has been reunited with her two children and her family.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) October 11, 2023
I spoke with her on the phone this afternoon. This is an outcome the Australian government has been seeking for a long time. pic.twitter.com/ukcoSR9oE3
Cheng Lei was a broadcast journalist at the Chinese state-owned media CGTN when she was detained by Chinese officials in August 2020.
It wasn’t until September that year that officials revealed the reason for her arrest, claiming she was “supplying state secrets overseas”, an allegation which Lei has and continues to deny.
The journalist spent the first six months of her detainment in solitary confinement in Residential Surveillance at a Dedicated Facility (RSDF), where she had no contact with the outside world, including her partner of eight years, Nick Coyle, and her two children, now 12 and 14 years old.
In March 2022, Lei faced a secretive closed trial that lasted just three hours in a Beijing court. No Australian diplomats or officials were allowed in the trial.
On the third anniversary of her detainment, Lei released a statement from prison, what she described as a “love letter” to Australia.
“It is not the same in here, I haven’t seen a tree in three years,” her letter read.
“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.
“Most of all, I miss my children.”
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 179th out of 180 countries in its 2023 Press Freedom Index. It states the PRC is the “world’s largest prison” for journalists.
As of today, there are 101 journalists detained in China.