Commentary The release from detention and the return to Australia of Cheng Lei was both unexpected and welcome. Ever since the detention and arrest of the 48-year-old television journalist, Australian governments and embassy officials endeavoured to secure her release. It is a credit to the government and our returning ambassador in Beijing, Graham Fletcher, that they have finally succeeded. Ms. Cheng was detained in August 2020, “formally” arrested in February 2021, and charged with providing state secrets to foreign organisations, then her secret trial was repeatedly delayed. But she has now been released following pressure on the communist regime. The charges against Ms. Cheng, which she denied, were unclear, the proceedings were secretive and the verdict was never publicly released. Such is the nature of Beijing’s so-called “rule of law!”...Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/release-of-detained-reporter-is-not-proof-that-beijing-has-changed-5510654