Australia’s foreign ministry has confirmed that Australian journalist Cheng Lei will face trial in China on March 31, after media outlets reported on the upcoming date trial on Friday, citing their own sources. “The Australian Government has regularly raised serious concerns about Ms Cheng’s welfare and conditions of detention. Our officials have visited her regularly, most recently on 21 March,” Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a release on March 26. “We expect basic standards of justice, procedural fairness, and humane treatment to be met, in accordance with international norms. “We have asked also that Australian officials be permitted to attend Ms Cheng’s hearing on 31 March, in line with China’s obligations under the Australia-China bilateral consular agreement,” she said. Cheng was formally arrested in China on Feb. 5, 2021, on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas, after being detained for six months without charge. Australian Embassy officials have visited …