On Thursday, police cordoned off areas near a courthouse entrance, checked journalists’ identities and asked them to leave. Cheng, 46, was a television presenter for China’s state-run CGTN television station before being arrested in August 2020. He was formally arrested a year ago on charges of illegally providing state secrets abroad. Cheng’s family members said they were convinced she was innocent. It is forbidden to enter the court Australia’s ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher, was barred from entering the heavily guarded court and told reporters his country did not understand why Cheng Lai was being held. Image: Australian Ambassador Graham Fletcher told reporters his country could not understand why Ms Lei was detained He described his refusal as “deeply disturbing, unsatisfactory and sad”. “We can have no confidence in the validity of a process that is conducted in secret,” he added. In a statement to Reuters, she said that Ms. Cheng’s two children and elderly parents are missing her very much and they sincerely hope to reunite with her as soon as possible. Image: Last May, in a separate case in the same court, the Australian ambassador was barred from entering a trial A court official told the ambassador that the accused was “a suspect in the crime of illegally providing state secrets in a foreign country” and that the case was not open to visitors. Officers in uniform and security personnel were stationed outside the court. Australia has in the past expressed concerns about Ms Cheng ‘s well – being and detention conditions. At a regular press conference earlier this week, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman did not immediately respond to a question about whether Australian officials could attend, but said Cheng’s rights would be fully guaranteed. It is not clear when the verdict will be issued. Image: Police officers in uniform and security personnel were stationed outside the court This is not the first time the Australian ambassador has been barred from entering the same court in China. Last May, in a separate case, the ambassador was unable to attend the trial of Australian blogger Yang Hengjun, who was charged with espionage. In August 2020, Ms. Cheng disappeared from television and CGTN deleted her websites from her profile page and her job. He was born in China and moved to Australia as a child. She then returned to the country, where she worked for CNBC in 2003 and later moved to CGTN in 2012, as a leading business news presenter.
