PM Anthony Albanese ‘didn’t see’ Chinese officials blocking Cheng Lei
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More news: Footage taken at an event during Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Australia appears to show a Chinese official stand in front of Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei before an Australian official physically shielded her.
However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he “didn’t see” Chinese officials block Cheng from appearing on camera next to Li in Parliament House.
In 2020, Cheng was jailed in China after being accused of “illegally supplying state secrets overseas” before her release last year. She now works as a journalist for Sky News.
What they said: Speaking at a press conference on Monday afternoon, Albanese said: “I saw Cheng Lei and we smiled at each other during the event. Look, I'm not aware of those issues. It's important that people be allowed to participate fully. That's what should happen in this building or anywhere else in Australia”.
Govt to continue to be 'candid' on China: PM Anthony Albanese
The news: Australia will continue to speak “candidly” about its differences with Beijing, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, as he welcomed Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Canberra.
The context: Li Qiang is in Canberra today during a three-day tour of Australia, the first by a Chinese premier since 2017.
On Sunday, Li announced two giant pandas would be offered to Adelaide Zoo before striking a memorandum of understanding with Australia to work closely over climate change on Monday. He will travel to Perth for the final day of his tour.
Bilateral relations have steadily improved since Labor took office as Beijing has lifted a series of trade sanctions on Australian products imposed during the Morrison years, when it ceased ministerial communication altogether.
In return, Labor has agreed to drop Australia’s complaints over the tariffs at the World Trade Organisation.
But the government has consistently stressed a number of issues remain, including the detention of Australian Yang Hengjun — believed to be seriously ill — and two naval incidents involving Chinese and Australian ships. Australia has also criticised China’s treatment of the Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang and its crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.
More broadly, China has been angered by Australia’s decision to join the AUKUS pact with the UK and US, which Beijing described as a “path of error and danger”.
What they said: “Candid dialogue is so important … There is no fixed model for a stabilised relationship. Our job is to make sure we manage our relationship so we can contribute to regional and global peace and prosperity," Albanese said welcoming Li to Parliament House on Monday.
"Dialogue advances cooperation. And addressing our differences without allowing them to define what our relationship is is so important," he said.
The source: PMO
