Exclusive: Australian writer detained in Beijing told supporter he was a former Chinese spy

Yuan Xiaoliang, wife of Australian writer Yang Hengjun, talks to Reuters in Shanghai, China October 19, 2020. P REUTERS/Stringer

SYDNEY/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Yang Hengjun, an Australian writer detained in Beijing and facing trial for espionage on behalf of a country China hasn't publicly named was a former Chinese spy, according to a confidential letter he wrote to a supporter in 2011.

In the detailed letter he wrote to his former teacher, which was reviewed by Reuters, Yang revealed he had worked for China’s Ministry of State Security for a decade from 1989, including in Hong Kong and Washington, before moving to Australia.