BEIJING (AP) – A Chinese court on Monday handed down a suspended death sentence to a Chinese-born Australian democracy blogger. The Australian government raised his claim He said he was appalled for years.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Yang Hengjun was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death with a two-year suspended sentence. Such sentences are often commuted to life imprisonment after two years.
“The Australian government is appalled,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement. “This is sad news for Dr. Yang, his family, and everyone who supported him.”
Mr Yang, a former Chinese diplomat and national security official turned Australian political commentator and spy novelist, arrived in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou from New York on January 19, 2019, with his wife and teenage boy. He was arrested when he did so. Stepdaughter.
He was tried behind closed doors in May 2021. Details of the lawsuit were not disclosed. Mr Yang became an Australian citizen in 2002 but denies having worked as a spy in Australia or the US.
In a letter to his sons last August, Yang said he had not experienced direct sunlight in more than four years. He told his family he feared he would die in custody. After being diagnosed with a kidney cyst, his supporters demanded that he be released for treatment.
Australia's foreign minister said in a statement that Australia would “convey our response in the strongest terms” and continue to seek his interests and well-being, including appropriate medical care.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang said the court had protected Yang's procedural rights and arranged for his Australian side to be present at Monday's ruling, possibly referring to diplomats at the Australian embassy.
In October of last year, Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been released from prison after more than three years. He has been detained in China on charges of breaking an embargo on state television broadcasts.
The plight of Yang and Cheng has been a frequent topic of discussion at high-level meetings between the two countries in recent years.
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Mr. Smith reported from Sydney. Associated Press writer Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.
