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
LAUSANNE, Switzerland—China has lost its place in team eventing at next year’s Paris Olympics because the horse of a three-time Olympian was found to have a “controlled medication” in its system. Japan will replace China for the equestrian competition at the Palace of Versailles. The International Equestrian Federation said Wednesday the Chinese team lost an Olympic qualification place at a competition in Ireland in June because a controlled substance was detected in the horse ridden by Alex Hua Tian. China had finished second to Australia to secure an entry in the 16-nation team eventing lineup at the OlymGamespics. Japan, which placed third in Ireland, rose to second when Hua Tian’s result was removed....
The Chinese regime has forcibly deported a large number of North Koreans, raising a concern that the returnees will face harsh punishment by the regime in Pyongyang, according to a human rights group. The spokesman for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, Koo Byoung-sam, confirmed the repatriation on Oct. 13, saying, “It appears to be true that a large number of North Koreans were repatriated to North Korea from China’s three northeastern provinces.” “[The South Korean] government’s position is that there should be no circumstances in which North Koreans living abroad would be forcibly repatriated back home against their will,” he added....
The wife of a former Chinese deputy consul in Melbourne has been on hunger strike for over 20 days, protesting against illegal imprisonment for her belief, a Minghui report says. He Xiaoling, 66 years old, was abducted from her home on Sept. 8, 2023, and was sentenced to imprisonment of one year and eight months after a closed-door trial on that day, for her belief in Falun Gong, according to the report. A resident of Leshan City, China’s southwestern Sichuan Province, Ms. He was once a reporter for Sichuan Business Daily and later an employee of the Leshan Giant Buddha Management Committee. The Leshan Giant Buddha is a world heritage site....