Australia chides China over journalist’s yearlong detention

Foreign Minister Marise Payne told China that Australia expected “basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met, in accordance with international norms.”

The Australian government said on Friday that it remained seriously concerned about the welfare of a Chinese-born Australian journalist a year after she was first detained in China. Foreign Minister Marise Payne used the first anniversary of Cheng Lei’s detention on August 13 to tell China that Australia expected “basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met, in accordance with international norms.” “The Australian government remains seriously concerned about Ms. Cheng’s detention and welfare and has regularly raised these issues at senior levels,” Ms. Payne said in a statement. “We are particularly concerned that one year into her detention, there remains a lack of transparency about the reasons for Ms. Cheng’s detention,” she added.