Cheng Lei (journalist)

Not to be confused with Chinese television presenter Cheng Lei.

Cheng Lei
成蕾
Cheng Lei in 2023
BornJune 1975 (age 49)
Yueyang, Hunan, China
CitizenshipAustralian[1]
Alma materUniversity of Queensland
Occupation(s)Journalist, News anchor
Employer(s)CGTN, CNBC, Sky News Australia
Criminal chargesEndangering national security
Children2

Cheng Lei (Chinese: 成蕾; pinyin: Chéng Lěi; born June 1975) is a Chinese-born Australian television news anchor and business reporter.[2] She served as a prominent news anchor for Chinese state owned English-language news channel China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Beijing from 2012 to 2020 and also hosted the Global Business program which airs on CGTN. She had previously worked for nine years as CNBC's China correspondent. Currently, she is a presenter and columnist at Sky News Australia.

In September 2020, after she had been detained by Chinese authorities in mid-August, a government official said Cheng Lei was "suspected of carrying out criminal activities endangering China’s national security", but no details about the accusations were provided. The International Federation of Journalists said her detention was "without cause or reason" and "deeply concerning". Cheng was formally arrested in February 2021 "on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas", according to a statement from Australia's foreign minister Marise Payne.[3] Cheng was released and returned to Australia in October 2023.[4]

  1. ^ "Who is Cheng Lei and why is she being detained in China? Here's what we know" ABC. 1 September 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference buckley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference scmp_20231011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).