Cheng Lei: Chinese officials appear to block freed Australian journalist from view
![](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/adsitepro.com/media/681522/conversions/f519e1b0-2c73-11ef-b9c6-9f812c59f3ec-large.webp)
The Australian reporter - jailed in China for three years - was attending a bilateral event in Canberra.
British Broadcasting CorporationWatchRegisterSign InHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUK General ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessFuture of BusinessTechnology of BusinessWork CultureInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersChinese officials appear to block freed journalist7 hours agoBy Hannah Ritchie, BBC News, Sydney ShareEPACheng Lei, who was imprisoned in China for three years, sits at a diplomatic event in Canberra on MondayChinese officials appear to have blocked a formerly imprisoned journalist from the view of cameras at an event between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra.
Cheng Lei, who was imprisoned by Beijing for three years, later said she believed two embassy officials had stood in front of her to prevent her from "saying” or “doing something” that they thought “would be a bad look”.
Mr Li's visit - the first by a Chinese premier since 2017 - has been seen as another step in the thawing of tensions between the two nations after a string of disputes.
Both he and Mr Albanese said bilateral discussions so far had been constructive.
When asked about whether he saw Ms Cheng being blocked on Monday, Mr Albanese said he “wasn’t aware” there had been an issue, but that “it’s important people be allowed to participate fully”.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjjjgqwen46o
Rating: 5