Cheng Lei blocked off by Chinese media officials as Li Qiang visits Australia
READ MORE: Pro- and anti-China protesters clash in Canberra
Chinese media officials have attempted to block Australian journalist Cheng Lei from appearing on camera during a press conference with Premier Li Qiang more than eight months after she was freed from a Chinese prison.
Video footage shows embassy officials attempting to move in front of Lei to block her from the view of cameras.
Lei was incarcerated by Chinese authorities in 2020 after being accused of 'illegally supplying state secrets overseas', allegations that were unfounded.
She returned home to Melbourne last year after a three-year ordeal in prison.
Prime mInister Anthony Albanese shakes hands with China's second most powerful leader, Li Qiang
It comes just hours after pro- and anti-China protesters clashed on the lawn outside Parliament House ahead of Premier Qiang's state visit - the first by a Chinese leader in seven years.
Peaceful supporters of Tibet, a predominantly Buddhist region in China's far west, were swarmed by counter-protesters who unfurled huge Chinese and Australian flags to block them from sight.
Some protesters carried huge flags that conjoined the Chinese and Australian flag, as Tibetan sympathisers struggled to hold their banner aloft.
At one stage, a scuffle broke out as a man fell to the floor and brought down a raised speaker as a heavy police presence observed the stand-off.
One observer claimed that 'people bearing Chinese flags who were bussed in and paid to "welcome" Chinese premier Li Qiang'.
More to come.