Journalist Confined In China Writes “Love Letter” Home: “I Miss My Kids”

In an open letter she transcribed from her cell to Australian officials, Cheng Lei details the depressing circumstances of her detention

Sydney: Imprisoned In a rare public letter to celebrate three years since her enigmatic detention in China, Australian journalist Cheng Lei expressed her longing for her kids and the nation’s “psychedelic sunsets.”

In a frank message dictated to Australian officials from her cell, Cheng outlines her deplorable incarceration conditions, shedding new light on a long-standing source of contention between Canberra and Beijing.

The communication, which is referred to as a “love letter” to Australia, begins: “I miss the sun.”

I can only stand in the sunshine for ten hours a year in my cell, despite it shining through the window.

A official allegation of “supplying state secrets overseas” has been brought against the former anchor for Chinese public broadcaster CGTN, who was detained in 2020. However, no other information has been provided.

On Thursday night, Cheng’s partner, Nick Coyle, posted her message on the social media site X and to Australian news agencies.

Some have questioned whether political maneuvering had a role in Cheng’s detention at a time when tensions between China and Australia were escalating.

Her story is sometimes contrasted with that of Yang Jun, an Australian author of Chinese descent who has been held in China since 2019 on nebulous espionage charges.

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Although relations between Canberra and Beijing have improved recently as a result of China removing a number of significant trade restrictions, Cheng’s arrest continues to be a source of tension.

Penny Wong, the foreign minister for Australia, stated that Cheng should be “reunited with her children” on behalf of the entire nation.

According to a statement she released on Friday, “Australia has consistently advocated for Ms. Cheng and requested that basic standards of justice, procedural fairness, and humane treatment be met in accordance with international norms.”

“We will continue to stand up for Ms Cheng’s interests and wellbeing, as well as to support Ms Cheng and her family.”

In the past, Coyle expressed grave worries about Cheng’s “range of health issues” when he was incarcerated.

“Miss my kids,”

The mother of two wrote a moving statement in which she expressed her longing for Australia’s beaches, bushwalks, and “psychedelic sunsets” and claimed that she had not seen a tree in three years.

She claimed that just once a year was her inmate bedding removed for airing.

Writing as a Chinese-Australian, Cheng claims, “It is the Chinese in me that has probably gone beyond the legal limits of sentimentality.”

She closes the letter by saying, “I miss my kids the most.

Cheng has been in custody since August 2020, but he wasn’t actually taken into custody until February 2021.

Even the Australian ambassador to China was prevented from attending the court to observe the trial’s proceedings last March, so it took place behind closed doors.

The verdict and Cheng’s punishment, which might result in a life sentence in jail, were postponed by the court.

She was absent when her kid started high school. Lei is their only kid, and her parents are becoming older. Time is therefore becoming increasingly valuable, Coyle said on Thursday, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Wong brought up Cheng’s situation when she spoke with Wang Yi, the chief ambassador for China, last month in Jakarta before an ASEAN conference.