China’s harsh and secretive justice system recently became a focal point as we heard the fate of Australian writer Yang Hengjun, five years after he was arrested and accused of espionage. The dual citizen and democracy activist, who moved to Australia in 1999, has been detained in China since his arrest in 2019 over suspicion of spying for Australia, allegations that both he and the Australian government have strongly rejected. On Monday, a Chinese court gave him a suspended death sentence. “The suspended nature of the death sentence suggests that Beijing wanted to send a strong message to domestic audiences — potentially a deterrent message — that it will not tolerate the release of state secrets, while not fully committing to a death sentence,” Professor Bec Strating from La Trobe Univerity told Yahoo News Australia. But the decision is a dark and “terrible reminder of the stark differences” between the Chinese and Australian systems of justice and government, Coalition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said this week.
Yang Hengjun has received a suspended death sentence by a Chinese court Source: AP/GettyChina ‘world’s worst executioner’China has a notorious history of imposing the death penalty for various offenses, including espionage, drug offenses, and even white-collar crimes like corruption. It has been labeled the “world’s worst executioner” by Amnesty International. Therefore, it’s not surprising that Dr. Yang faces the death penalty and will likely have it commuted to life imprisonment, according to Donald Rothwell from the Australian National University. However, if “circumstances were different” — perhaps if he wasn’t a foreign citizen — “he could have been facing execution this week,” the international law professor told Yahoo News Australia. Ultimately, it’s a chilling reminder of the severe punishments under Beijing’s draconian laws.
China, a communist state, has a notorious record of imposing the death penalty for a range of offences. Source: GettyChina’s execution ‘conveyor belt’When death sentences are handed down “it happens quickly” in “very large numbers” Rothwell said. Amnesty International calls it a “conveyor belt of executions”.Story continues”The general view across the board is that China carries out more executions than any other country in the world and that those numbers are certainly seen to be in the thousands,” Rothwell explained. “But there is no formal governmental reporting of executions, so it’s very difficult to get verifiable numbers.””China has a record of carrying out executions very quickly once a sentence has been handed down,” he said. “So unless there are appeal options or if appeal options are not being pursued, an execution will occur very quickly”.Methods used for mass executionsResearch from The Australian National University (ANU) in 2022 suggests Chinese surgeons at state-run civilian and military hospitals have executed death-row prisoners by removing their hearts. It’s believed they’re used in medicine and scientific experiments — but also, organ harvesting is “extremely profitable”.
Firing squads (shooting) and lethal injections are believed to be two favoured methods of execution used to carry out state-sanctioned executions. Source: GettyFiring squads (shooting) and lethal injections are believed to be two favored methods of execution used to carry out state-sanctioned executions. In recent times, lethal injections have taken precedence, reportedly because they are cheaper and more discreet. The lethal injections are believed to be administered in what’s been referred to as execution vans, or mobile death vans, allowing the execution of prisoners without having to transport them to jail, and their secretive nature means victims are not often named due to the speed in which they are tried and executed. Capital punishment as a ‘means of state control’It’s not unusual for authoritarian governments to maintain the death penalty, pointed out Rothwell, adding that China “doesn’t have a very modern or liberal approach to human rights and is not very receptive to so-called Western human rights values”. Under Xi Jinping’s regime, “China has moved to become even more authoritarian,” especially when it comes to “law and order issues”. Rothwell said capital punishment is being used “as an additional means of state control”.
Australia and China have been working toward mending a fractured relationship, but the news of Hengjun’s sentence poses new challenges. Source: GettyYaqiu Wang, China researcher for Human Rights Watch, agreed and said the death penalty had “long been a political tool of the Chinese Communist party’s to showcase its power over the population, and its readiness to eliminate those it deems ‘criminal’,” The Guardian reported. Additionally, Amnesty’s China researcher Kai Ong said “the Chinese government still sees the use of the death penalty as an effective deterrent to crimes,” The Sun reported. “Xi Jinping’s regime has very much sought to send out a message to the population that capital punishment will be used and that the Chinese citizens need to be aware that if they transgress significantly, they could be subject to capital punishment,” Rothwell added. What Dr. Yang’s sentencing means for AustraliaThe news this week threatens a recent warming of relations between Australia and China, analysts say, which until late last year had been marred by tensions over trade, Covid-19, and China’s security posture. While Australia and China have significantly repaired diplomatic relations since Labor took office, Coalition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the news was a sobering reminder of the different realities of the two countries. “Not only is this a painful blow to Dr. Yang, but in terms of people-to-people relations, it is a reminder of the risks that apply in doing business or engaging with China,” he said. “It’s a reminder of why it is important for us to always defend the very important values and systems that we have the privilege of enjoying here in Australia.”Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. 
