Australian-Chinese writer Yang Hengjun has been sentenced to death in China five years after he was accused of spying, foreign minister Penny Wong confirmed.
It is a suspended sentence that can be commuted to life imprisonment after two years.
Yang, a pro-democracy blogger, was arrested at the Guangzhou airport in 2019 and booked for spying on an undisclosed foreign country. He received a closed-door trial in Beijing in May 2021. Yang has maintained innocence since his arrest. “I will never confess to something I haven’t done,” he said in 2020.
Yang‘s sentence was confirmed by another human rights lawyer in Beijing who has been following his case. “He was found guilty of all charges,” the lawyer said, asking to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Calling his sentencing “harrowing” and “appalling”, senator Wong summoned China’s ambassador for an explanation. The government has also petitioned for his release.
“We have consistently called for basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment for Dr Yang, in accordance with international norms and China’s legal obligations,” Ms Wong said.
“All Australians want to see Dr Yang reunited with his family. We will not relent in our advocacy.”
His family said they were “shocked and devastated” by the court order, calling it “at extreme end of worst expectations”.
Yang was born in China and was a diplomat and state security agent before moving to the private sector in Hong Kong and later Australia. He became an Australian citizen in 2002.
Yang wrote about Chinese and US politics as a high-profile blogger and also wrote a series of spy novels before his detention.
His two sons, who live in Australia, wrote to prime minister Anthony Albanese in October on the eve of his visit to Beijing, urging him to seek Yang‘s release on medical grounds.
In August last year, Yang had told his family he fears he will die in detention after being diagnosed with a kidney cyst, prompting supporters to demand his release for medical treatment. Ms Wong said Australia “will be communicating our response in the strongest terms” and will continue to press for Dr Yang‘ interests and wellbeing, including appropriate medical care.
In October last year, Australian journalist Cheng Lei was freed after more than three years in detention in China for breaking an embargo with a television broadcast on a state-run TV network.
The plights of Yang and Cheng had frequently been on the agendas of high-level meetings between the countries in recent years.
Additional reporting by agencies