‘APPALLED’

Australian Blogger’s Suspended Death Sentence in China Sparks Fury

Sentence comes almost three years after 58-year-old Yang Hengjun faced a one-day trial behind closed doors on unknown charges.

Australia has reacted with fury to news that a Chinese-born Australian blogger and activist has been handed a suspended death sentence for spying after a secret one-day trial almost three years ago. Yang Hengjun, 58, was arrested on arrival at Guanzho airport in January 2019, accused of having “endangered national security.” He was tried in May 2021 on unknown charges, with Australian diplomats denied access to the court, but no verdict was ever made public. The terms of the suspended death sentence, commonly used in China, allows the authorities to commute the sentence to life in prison at a later date. Confirming the sentence on Monday, Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said: “The Australian government is appalled by this outcome” and Canberra would be responding “in the strongest terms.” Yang’s friend and colleague, Feng Chongyi, said Yang was being punished “for his criticism of human rights abuses in China and his advocacy for universal values such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law.”