Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has criticised the “ham-fisted” attempts by Chinese officials to block cameras from filming journalist Cheng Lei in Parliament House.
Mr Albanese said Australia had made clear to the Chinese embassy that there should be “no impediments to journalists going about their job” after the incident that marred Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Canberra.
Chinese embassy officials sparked outrage on Monday after attempting to block cameras from filming Ms Lei during a press event featuring Mr Li, Mr Albanese and senior Labor ministers.
Ms Lei spent almost three years in a Chinese prison in an ordeal that added to the tensions between Canberra and Beijing.
She returned to Australia last October and is now working for Sky News Australia, who she was representing at the event.
Australian officials repeatedly asked the Chinese official blocking Ms Lei to move – but he refused to budge.
Ms Lei then swapped seats with another journalist, only for another Chinese official to attempt to block her from a different direction.
Australian bureaucrats stepped in again, standing in front of Ms Lei to prevent the Chinese official’s advances.
The Australian officials were seething at the conduct of the Chinese officials and made their displeasure clear after Mr Li and Mr Albanese exited the room.
Mr Albanese was asked about treatment of Ms Lei on Monday afternoon but said he was unaware of what had happened.
The prime minister finally addressed the incident in interviews on Perth radio on Tuesday morning ahead of another day of events with the Chinese premier.
Mr Albanese described the attempts to block Ms Lei as “ham-fisted”, saying the behaviour was an example of the clear cultural and political differences between Australian and China.
He said Australia had expressed its concern directly to the Chinese embassy in Canberra.
“When you look at the footage, it was pretty clumsy attempt, frankly,” he told ABC Perth.
Mr Albanese praised Ms Lei as a “very decent human being and a very professional journalist”.
“There should be no impediments to Australian journalists going about their job, and we’ve made that clear to the Chinese embassy,” he said.