Sino-Australian Relations and the Risk of Arbitrary Detention in China

In this week’s podcast Sibylline’s Deputy Insight Manager Amy Reynolds is joined by Dr Guo Yu, Lead ASPAC Analyst, and Aédán Mordecai, Asia-Pacific Analyst. Together they analyse the consequences of Beijing charging Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei with supplying state secrets overseas. The former presenter of the Chinese state-run English-language channel CGTN was first detained in August 2020. Cheng's detention and subsequent criminal charges are framed against the backdrop of a deepening fracture in China-Australia relations. Cheng's arrest, together with a number of other foreign nationals currently under detention, has raised concerns about the risk of politicised justice for employees of foreign entities operating in China.