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Australian reporter Cheng Lei, detained in China, says diplomats tried to ‘block’ her at Li Qiang event
- Cheng Lei, now working for Sky News Australia, said Chinese officials tried to stop her being filmed during Premier Li Qiang’s visit
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An Australian journalist and former high-profile prisoner said Chinese officials tried to “block” her at a press conference in Canberra on Monday in an apparent attempt to stem negative coverage of Premier Li Qiang’s visit.
A former anchor for Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, Cheng Lei spent three years detained in China on murky spying accusations before she was released to Australia in October 2023.
She has written extensively about the bleak conditions and tough treatment she faced while in detention.
Cheng, now working as a journalist for Sky News Australia, said Chinese officials tried to stop her being filmed when she arrived to cover Li’s visit to the nation’s parliament on Monday.

“They went to great lengths to block me from the cameras and to flank me,” she told Sky News Australia.
“And I’m guessing that’s to prevent me from saying something or doing something that they think would be a bad look,” she told Sky News Australia. “But that itself is a bad look.”
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