China Hands Suspended Death Penalty to Australian Writer

A Chinese-Australian writer, Yang Hengjun received a suspended death penalty in China, five years after he was first detained, as per Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong.

Wong expressed that the Australian government is 'appalled' by the sentence. Hengjun, an Australian citizen and democracy activist born in China, was sentenced by a Beijing court last Monday, Wong stated in a press release.

Facing national security charges, Hengjun could spend the rest of his life in a Chinese prison. Wong added, 'This is harrowing news for Dr. Yang, his family, and all who have supported him. Our thoughts are with them. I acknowledge the acute distress they will all be feeling after many years of uncertainty.'

'We understand this can be commuted to life imprisonment after two years if the individual does not commit any serious crimes in the two-year period,' Wong further clarified.

A spokesperson for Hengjun's family expressed shock and devastation at the news, stating, 'We know our father has done nothing wrong. He is in jail because he represents truth, democracy, and the respectful exchange of rational ideas.'

Hengjun was detained in 2019 during a visit to meet his family in China and was charged with espionage, which he denied. A secret trial was held in a Beijing court in 2021, with the verdict repeatedly delayed.

In August last year, Hengjun voiced concerns about dying in a Chinese prison due to inadequate medical attention, as a 10-centimetre cyst developed on his kidney.

The family spokesperson disclosed that Hengjun had been subjected to more than 300 interrogations over 18 months, including six months of intense torture. Despite being deprived of sleep and having his wrists and ankles strapped and pinned to a chair for days, he has never confessed to working as a spy, the spokesperson added.

Sharing a letter, the family spokesperson quoted Hengjun, 'Anyone with a little bit of sense and rationality can observe that the progress of China, and indeed of any people or country in the world, has always depended on the free expression of opinions and criticisms that promote progress and improvement.