Last year, following the arrest of the Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on fraud charges by Canadian authorities, Beijing responded by summarily arresting several Canadian nationals. Later in the year, it’s wolf warrior diplomats threatened the welfare of the three hundred thousand Canadians domiciled in Hong Kong.
Australia has seen several political prisoners detained in China over the years. Political critics and, famously, Stern Hu of Rio, have spent time in prison. Recently, the blockading of Australian coal has led to the stranding of hundreds of foreign nationals of Chinese ports, though these are not Australians they pressure Australia via other governments.
Yesterday we got this from DFAT:
The Australian Government has been advised that Australian citizen Ms Cheng Lei was formally arrested in China on 5 February, after 6 months of detention.
Chinese authorities have advised that Ms Cheng was arrested on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas.
Ms Cheng has been detained since 13 August 2020.
The Australian Government has raised its serious concerns about Ms Cheng’s detention regularly at senior levels, including about her welfare and conditions of detention.
Australian Embassy officials have visited Ms Cheng six times since her detention, most recently on 27 January 2021, in accordance with our bilateral consular agreement with China.
We expect basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met, in accordance with international norms.
Our thoughts are with Ms Cheng and her family during this difficult period.
Australia can have zero faith in the Chinese legal process which is opaque, corrupt and a functional arm of the CCP. This is hostage diplomacy.
The CCP cannot be so obtuse as to think that this will do anything but harm Australian views of China, which have already cratered, so it is yet more evidence that it just doesn’t care. Bejing is now an open bully and forget the rest.
Australians should under no illusions about the evil of this regime. China under the CCP is a rogue state capable of egregious violations of international law, diplomatic normatives and plain decency.
Any Australian within a Chinese jurisdiction should leave promptly. The dictator may arrest you at any time without charge, recourse or due process.
