Canberra Outraged at China's Death Sentence for Australian Citizen
Australian father, academic and writer Yang Hengjun has been given a suspended death sentence over espionage charges in China. The Australian Government has vowed to fight for his release.
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00:00 Australian citizen and pro-democracy advocate Yang Hengjun handed the most severe of sentences by a Chinese court.
00:08 The court has declared Yang's case as a spy case.
00:13 Yang is found guilty of espionage and sentenced to two years in prison.
00:19 The suspended sentence means Yang will most likely face life in jail
00:23 and only be executed if he's found guilty of more crimes within two years.
00:28 Before moving to Australia in 1999 where he became an academic,
00:32 Yang was a diplomat in Beijing's foreign ministry.
00:35 He only returned to China in 2019 to visit his ailing father.
00:40 A frequent blogger of Chinese political dealings,
00:43 Yang was arrested for spying as soon as he landed back in his country of birth.
00:47 He has spent more than four years in a Beijing prison.
00:51 Yang has always denied these accusations and the Australian government say they are baseless.
00:56 The Australian government is appalled at this outcome.
01:00 We will be communicating our response in the strongest terms.
01:05 It's shattering news for his family who shared a statement saying this result comes at the extreme end of worst expectations.
01:12 After China released Australian journalist Cheng Lei last year,
01:16 the Yang family wrote to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hoping for a similar outcome,
01:22 sharing Dr Yang's own words.
01:24 I haven't enjoyed any direct sunlight for over four years.
01:28 Don't worry about me. The Australian government are paying attention to my case.
01:33 I just hope I'll be able to get out alive.
01:36 The Australian government has vowed to make efforts for his release,
01:40 already summoning and reprimanding the country's Chinese ambassador.
01:44 We have conveyed firstly to China our dismay, our despair, our frustration,
01:56 but to put it really simply, our outrage at this verdict.
02:02 This is a very harsh sentence on Dr Yang who is a man who's not in good health
02:12 and we will continue to make the strongest representations.
02:16 Human rights experts say the sentencing is unjust after a closed trial and countless delays.
02:22 Yang himself has alleged torture, forced confessions, particularly in the earlier period of interrogations.
02:31 He had delayed access to legal representation, limited access to a lawyer.
02:37 Australian diplomats were also prevented from entering the courtroom.
02:41 So we actually have very little information about what it is that Yang is alleged to have done.
02:48 This outcome will again test the relationship between Australia and China,
02:52 only just recovering from years of tension.
02:55 Despite ties stabilising under the Albanese government in recent years,
02:59 it hasn't seemed to grant them enough leverage to protect this Australian citizen's fate.
03:04 Patrick Chen and Rosie Greninjar reporting from Sydney, Australia for Taiwan Plus.
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