Yang Hengjun: Australian author sentenced to suspended death sentence in China

Five years after Australian author Yang Hengjun was arrested on suspicion of espionage, a Chinese court has handed down a suspended death sentence.

Australian officials said the sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment after two years.

Dr. Yang, an academic and novelist who blogs about Chinese national politics, denies the accusations, but their content has not been made public.

The Australian government said it was “appalled” by the outcome.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong summoned China’s ambassador to Australia for clarification and said on Monday the government would “communicate” its response to Beijing “in the strongest terms”.

“We have consistently called for basic judicial standards, procedural fairness, and humane treatment for Dr. Yang, in accordance with international norms and China’s legal obligations,” he said in a statement.

“All Australians want to see Dr Yang reunited with his family and we will not slow down our advocacy.”

Australian officials have previously raised concerns about his treatment, while China’s Foreign Ministry warned them not to interfere in the case and to respect the country’s “judicial sovereignty.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters that Yang’s case was being “handled strictly” in accordance with the law, and that the doctor’s case and the rights of the consulate were respected.

Dr Yang’s supporters describe his detention as “political persecution”.

“He has been punished by the Chinese government for criticizing human rights abuses in China and defending universal values ​​such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” said his friend, University of Sydney academic Feng Chongyi. told the BBC.

Dr. Yang, who previously worked for China’s Ministry of State Security, was nicknamed the “peddler of democracy,” but his writings often avoided direct criticism of the government.

He lived in New York but was arrested at the airport in January 2019 while traveling to Guangzhou to apply for a visa with his Chinese wife and child.

Since then, the 58-year-old’s case has proceeded mostly behind closed doors, including a secret trial in 2021.

Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said his case raises “myriad” due process concerns and the outcome is “outrageous.”

“Mr Yang’s access to legal representation and private trials has been delayed and limited, and he himself has made allegations of torture and coerced confessions during interrogation,” she told the BBC.

Mr Wong said Dr Yang still had avenues to appeal, but his sons, who are based in Australia, had previously said that Dr Yang’s health had deteriorated and he was not receiving treatment.

His detention, and that of Australian journalist Cheng Lei in 2020, contributed to a deterioration in relations between Beijing and Canberra, but relations have stabilized since the change of government in Australia in 2022.

However, Lowy Institute senior fellow Richard McGregor told the Sydney Morning Herald that Dr Yang’s new sentence was likely to have a “significant impact on the bilateral relationship” between the two countries.

“This film shows on widescreen the opaqueness of China’s legal system, its disregard for the reasonable demands of foreign governments on behalf of its own people, and its vindictiveness towards those who challenge it.” said.

“This sentence is the most extreme that could have been expected. The inevitable conclusion is that he will die in prison.”