SYDNEY – Canberra called on Monday for a jailed Australian journalist to be released and reunited with her family, as the broadcaster marked 1,000 days in detention in China.

Cheng Lei, a former anchor at Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, disappeared on Aug 13, 2020, and was later charged with “supplying state secrets overseas”.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed “deep concerns” about delays in Lei’s case, which many believe to be politically motivated.

“Despite being separated from her family for so long, she has shown great resilience and courage,” Ms Wong said. “All Australians want to see her reunited with her children.”

Lei, a mother of two, is one of several foreign citizens detained by China as their countries locked horns with Beijing.

Ms Wong has previously suggested that the fate of Australian nationals jailed in China was a stumbling block as the two countries try to repair ties.

Asked about Lei’s detention, China’s foreign ministry on Monday said her “various legal rights are guaranteed in accordance with the law”.

“Cheng Lei’s suspected crime was dealt with by the relevant Chinese authorities according to law,” spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing.

Lei’s friend Nick Coyle has penned an impassioned plea for her release.

“Now 1000 days later, we still don’t know why she was taken, why she was charged with deliberately vague national security breaches or when she might be with us again,” he wrote in an article for The Australian newspaper published on Monday.

“The other victims of the opaque Chinese legal system in this case have been her two children, then nine and 11.”

Since her disappearance, Lei has had limited contact with the outside world and only monthly consular visits. AFP