‘The most harrowing news’ - Australia appalled after writer given suspended death sentence in China

Facing the law: A filepic of Yang and his wife Yuan Xiaoliang. He was sentenced by a Beijing court ‘in an espionage case in accordance with the law’. — AP

Chinese-Australian dissident writer Yang Jun has been handed a suspended death sentence for espionage in China, Beijing and Canberra said, five years after he was arrested on a rare visit to his homeland.

The Chinese-born Australian citizen has been in jail in China since 2019 on spying allegations and is said to be in ill health.

China’s foreign ministry said the writer, who gained a huge following in exile for his spy novels and calls for greater freedom in his homeland, was sentenced by a Beijing court yesterday “in an espionage case in accordance with the law”.

“It found that Yang Jun was guilty of espionage, sentenced him to death with a two-year suspended execution, and confiscated all his personal property,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

Yang, who denies the spying claims, was arrested on a rare trip back to China five years ago.

The writer – who also goes by his pen name Yang Hengjun – has previously told supporters he was tortured at a secret detention site and feared forced confessions may be used against him.

“The Australian government is appalled at this outcome,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told a news conference.

Canberra understood that the death sentence could be commuted to life in jail after a period of two years, Wong said.

“We will be communicating our response in the strongest terms,” the Australian minister said.

The sentence was “the most harrowing news”, she added.

Wong said the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, would be summoned to hear the government’s objection.

“I want to acknowledge the acute distress that Dr Yang and his family will be feeling today, coming after years of uncertainty,” she said.

Yang’s verdict and sentence had been repeatedly delayed since his closed-door trial on national security charges in May 2021, she said.

Australia had consistently called for “basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment”, she said.

“Australia will not relent in advocacy for justice for Dr Yang’s interests and wellbeing including appropriate medical treatment,” the minister said.

Yang’s friends said last year that he feared he would die in jail without proper medical treatment because of a cyst growing on his kidney.

“If something happens with my health and I die in here, people outside won’t know the truth,” he said in a note.

“If something happens to me, who can speak for me?” — AP