The 49-year-old was a popular television journalist in China. The Australian mother of two is now in prison, but no one knows why.

In mid-August, Australian journalist Cheng Lei was arrested in China. It is not yet clear what he is accused of.

Cheng Lei’s last sign of life (49) is a Twitter message from August 11. Three days later, the Australian authorities received a report from the Chinese that the Australian citizen had been arrested.

Cheng was born in China but later became an Australian citizen. In recent years, she has hosted the Chinese television channel China Global Television Network.

In the days after the arrest, the employer removed all information about her from the television station’s website, writes The Guardian.

Cheng had to wait until August 27 before speaking to Australian authorities. It happened through a video link. Neither she nor the diplomats trying to help her find out what is suspected, according to various media outlets.

It is also not known where she is being held. But the Chinese say it is in a center where “people live under surveillance.” This is a form of arrest that UN human rights experts believe to be “disappearance under duress,” according to The Guardian.

You can stay in that form of custody for six months.

Fear of being held hostage

Australian authorities are now warning their citizens not to travel to China and signaling the danger of arrest.

Peter Greste, spokesman for The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom, fears Cheng will be held hostage:

“In the absence of evidence, the only conclusion we can draw is that she is being held hostage in a major diplomatic conflict between Australia and China,” he told The Guardian.

He says it may also be that she said something the authorities don’t like.

Elaine Pearson, director of Human Rights Watch in Australia, is concerned.

“We know that Beijing has a kind of hostage-taking tradition,” he told Sky News Australia.

She notes that China arrested two Canadian citizens after Canada arrested a leader of the IT giant Huawei. The United States demands that the woman, Meng Wanzhou, be extradited. She is accused of fraud.

Many believe that the two Canadians will be used as a means of pressure against the Canadian authorities, writes The New York Times.

Geoffrey Raby is a former Australian Ambassador to China and a friend of Cheng. He tells ABC radio station that he is very worried.

He says he has a long experience and knows the limits that apply to expressions in China.

Tense between Australia and China

Despite the fact that China is Australia’s largest trading partner, relations between the two countries have deteriorated.

Australia strongly provoked China by launching an international investigation into how China handled the corona outbreak. Soon after, China began raising tariffs on major Australian agricultural products.

Last week, China announced that it was also considering increasing tariffs on Australian wines.

China also warns young people not to travel to Australia to study because they may be exposed to racism.

Regarding the imprisonment of Cheng Lei, the Chinese authorities are very taciturn.

– I have no specific information. China is a country governed by law, Hua Chunying, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, responded at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.