Australian government denies meddling in Cheng Lei case after Chinese criticism

Foreign minister Marise Payne says Australia stands up for its citizens but that does not mean it's interfering with China's legal system

The Australian government has rejected China's claims of meddling after Canberra called for the detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei to be treated humanely, while the head of the security committee has labelled the accusation as absurd".

Chinese authorities have confirmed that Cheng - an anchor for the Chinese state-owned English-language news channel China Global Television Network - has been formally arrested on suspicion of illegally providing state secrets to foreign forces" after nearly six months of detention.