Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun was handed a suspended death sentence for spying. Photo: AP
BEIJING: A Chinese court has given a suspended death sentence to Yang Hengjun, an Australian democracy blogger of a Chinese born on Monday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Yang Hengjun was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.
Yang's sentence is a kind that is known to be often reduced to life in prison after two years.
“The Australian Government is appalled,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement. “This is harrowing news for Dr. Yang, his family and all who have supported him.”
Yang, 59 years old has been detained in China since January 19, 2019, when he arrived in Guangzhou from New York with his wife and teenage stepdaughter and received a closed-door trial on an espionage charge in Beijing in May 2021 and was awaiting a verdict, according to the report. However, the details of his case have not been disclosed.
Yang has denied he has worked as a spy for Australia or the United States.
Yang was born in China and was a diplomat and state security agent. China's Foreign Ministry denied Yang had ever been employed by the ministry, according to a Reuters report in 2019. From 1992 to 1997, Yang worked in Hong Kong as the manager of a mainland Chinese company. Afterwards, he went to the U.S. as a senior fellow of the Atlantic Council. He is regarded as a divisive figure among overseas Chinese dissidents and activists.
Yang became known as a writer of spy novels, blogger and political commentator in Australia.
According to the report, Yang said he hadn’t experienced direct sunlight in more than four years. He told his family he feared he would die in detention after being diagnosed with a kidney cyst, prompting supporters to demand his release for medical treatment, in a letter he wrote last year August.
The Australian foreign minister said in her statement "Australia will be communicating our response in the strongest terms and will continue to press for his interests and wellbeing, including appropriate medical care".
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the court had protected Yang’s procedural rights and arranged for the Australian side to attend Monday’s sentencing, likely referring to a diplomat or diplomats from the Australian Embassy.
中國對澳洲華裔民主部落客楊恆均判處死刑緩期執行
北京：中國法院對週一出生的澳洲民主部落客楊恆均判處死刑，緩期執行。
中國外交部發言人汪文斌表示，楊恆均犯間諜罪，被判死刑，緩期兩年執行。
據了解，楊的刑期通常在兩年後減為無期徒刑。
「澳洲政府感到震驚，」澳洲外交部長黃英賢在聲明中表示。 “對於楊博士、他的家人以及所有支持他的人來說，這是一個令人痛心的消息。”
楊現年59 歲，自2019 年1 月19 日起一直在中國被拘留，當時他與妻子和十幾歲的繼女從紐約抵達廣州，並於2021 年5 月在北京接受間諜指控的閉門審判，目前正在等待法庭審理。據報道稱，判決結果。 不過，他的案件細節尚未披露。
楊否認他曾為澳洲或美國擔任間諜。
楊出生於中國，是一名外交官和國家安全特工。 根據路透社 2019 年的報道，中國外交部否認楊曾受僱於外交部。1992 年至 1997 年，楊在香港一家中國大陸公司擔任經理。 隨後，他前往美國擔任大西洋理事會高級研究員。 他被視為海外中國異議人士和活動人士中的分裂人物。
楊在澳洲以間諜小說作家、部落客和政治評論員而聞名。
報道稱，楊說他已經四年多沒有經歷過陽光直射了。 他在去年八月寫的一封信中告訴家人，他擔心自己被診斷出患有腎囊腫後會在拘留期間死亡，這促使支持者要求釋放他接受治療。
澳洲外交部長在聲明中表示
“澳洲將以最強烈的措辭傳達我們的回應”，並將繼續爭取他的利益和福祉，包括適當的醫療照護。
中國外交部發言人表示，法院保護楊的程序權利，並安排澳洲方面旁聽週一的宣判，可能指的是澳洲大使館的一名或多名外交官。
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