Dr Yang denies having worked as a spy in Australia or the US, and further denies wrongdoing in letters to family and supporters from prison.
China has given an Australian writer a suspended death sentence – five years after he was arrested on spying charges.
Dr. Yang Hengjun, a pro-democracy scholar, was arrested at Guangzhou airport in 2019 on suspicion of spying for an undisclosed country.
According to the Australian government, Dr Yang’s sentence will be handed down three years after a closed trial, but his sentence can be commuted to life imprisonment after two years if he does not commit any serious crimes within the next two years.
he denies working as a spy Australia Or in the US, letters from prison to family and supporters further deny any wrongdoing.
Fellow Australian academic Feng Chong-yi denounced the ruling as a “serious case of injustice”.
“I have been punished by the Chinese government for criticizing human rights violations in China and defending universal values such as human rights, democracy, and the rule of law,” Feng said.
Dr. Yang is a well-known blogger who writes about China and US politics.
He was living in New York in 2019 and working as an online shopping agent for Chinese consumers looking for American products, but was arrested later that year while visiting China.
The academic had previously been arrested in China in 2011 on suspicion of links to online democracy activists, but was released a few days later after intervention by the Australian government.
At the time, Dr Yang reportedly briefed Mr Feng about his work with China’s Ministry of State Security for 10 years starting in 1989 before moving to Australia to study.
The Chinese-born academic also spent time writing a spy novel about a double agent named Yang, which was published in Taiwan.
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The City of Canberra said it was “appalled” by the verdict, which shocked his family and supporters.
A spokesperson for Sydney’s family said: “We are shocked and devastated by this news at the extreme of our worst expectations.”
Dr Yang’s two sons, who live in Australia, wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October before his visit to Beijing, pleading for his release on medical grounds.
Dr. Yang’s supporters say he should be released on parole after being informed of the possibility of kidney surgery.
The bilateral relationship between Australia and China, which was described in 2014 as a “comprehensive strategic partnership” based on strong economic, trade and cultural ties, has come under pressure following the incident.
Richard McGregor of the Lowy Institute, an independent think tank in Australia, said the ruling “casts a shadow” on the relationship between the two countries, adding: “It highlights the opacity of the Chinese system and China’s inability to respond to reasonable complaints from foreign countries. “It’s a strong reminder of resistance.”
Human Rights Watch’s Elaine Pearson said the ruling was “outrageous” and called the Australian government “another government that arbitrarily detains its own citizens,” including Canada, Japan and the United States. ” and asked for cooperation.
China has cracked down on what it sees as threats to national security and has disclosed several spying cases in recent years.
The government also warn the public Regarding the dangers of being involved in domestic and overseas
Espionage.
It has encouraged people to participate in counter-espionage efforts, including creating channels to report suspicious activity.
China has also launched a sweeping crackdown on foreign consulting and due diligence firms, citing the threat of leaking state secrets, which has rattled foreign companies operating in the country.