Yang Hengjun: Australian writer given suspended death penalty in China, in a move that has been condemned by Canberra | CNN

Zhan min/Imagine China/Reuters

Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun at a lecture at Beijing Institute of Technology in Beijing, China on 18 November 2010.

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A Chinese-Australian writer has been handed a suspended death penalty in China, five years after being detained on espionage charges, according to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Yang Hengjun, an Australian citizen and democracy activist born in China, was given the sentence by a court in Beijing on Monday, said Wong in a statement, adding that the Australian government was “appalled” by the ruling.

“We understand this can be commuted to life imprisonment after two years if the individual does not commit any serious crimes in the two-year period,” Wong said.

“This is harrowing news for Dr Yang, his family and all who have supported him. Our thoughts are with them.”

Yang, 58, was arrested in 2019 at the airport when he arrived in the southern city of Guangzhou with his wife from New York to see family in China.

He was later accused of espionage, which he has denied.

Yang’s case has been shrouded in secrecy. Chinese authorities have provided no details on his charges – including which country he was accused of spying for.

In 2021, his trial was held behind closed doors in a heavily guarded court in Beijing, to which Australian diplomats were denied entry. The verdict and sentence were repeatedly delayed.

China’s court system is widely known to be opaque – particularly in cases involving national security – and has a conviction rate of over 99%, according to legal observers.

Yang has experienced poor health while in detention. Last year, he expressed fears that he might die in prison, following the discovery of a large cyst on his kidney.

Australia has pushed for Yang’s cause with China “at every opportunity, and at the highest levels,” said Wong, the Australian foreign minister, in her statement.

She vowed to keep advocating for Yang’s interests and wellbeing, including appropriate medical treatment, and to provide consular assistance to him and his family.

At a press conference on Monday, Wong said she had summoned China’s ambassador, Xiao Qian, to explain the sentence, while acknowledging it was a “decision of the Chinese legal system.”

“All Australians want to see Dr Yang reunited with his family,” Wong said, adding that Yang has “options” to appeal the sentence.

Feng Chongyi, Yang’s friend and former PhD supervisor in Australia, described his sentence as a “barbarous act by the Chinese Communist regime.”

“Yang is punished by the Chinese government for his criticism of human rights abuses in China and his advocacy for universal values such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” he said.

“This is outraging political persecution and an unacceptable arbitrary imprisonment of an innocent Australian citizen.”

Feng also expressed concern for Yang’s health, saying he is now “critically ill” and calling on the Australian government to arrange medical parole for Yang and bring him back to Australia as soon as possible.

Yang worked as an official with the Chinese Foreign Ministry before moving to Australia.

Before his detention, he regularly posted satirical commentaries critical of the Chinese government to his nearly 130,000 followers on X, previously known as Twitter. He also wrote a series of spy novels.

Though he is an Australian citizen, Yang spent most of his time in the United States, where he was a visiting scholar at Columbia University in New York.

Yang’s sentence was also condemned by human rights groups.

Daniela Gavshon, Australia director at Human Rights Watch, said the sentence was “catastrophic” for Yang and his family and called for “stronger action” from Canberra to increase pressure on Beijing.

“After years of arbitrary detention, allegations of torture, a closed and unfair trial without access to his own choice of lawyers – a sentence as severe as this is alarming,” she said.

“It shines a light on Beijing’s opaque criminal justice system, which the Chinese Communist Party controls.”

It is not the first time the fate of Australians caught up in national security cases has sparked tensions between Beijing and Canberra.

Last October, Australian TV anchor Cheng Lei was released by China and returned home to her family more than three years after she was detained on opaque espionage charges.

Cheng, a former business anchor for China’s state broadcaster CGTN and mother of two, was accused of illegally supplying state secrets overseas.

Beijing did not reveal details of the allegations against Cheng throughout her three years of detention, and the Chinese court delayed handing down verdict multiple times.

Author: OpenAI