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Yang Hengjun: Australian writer charged with espionage in China could face death penalty
- Yang – a Chinese native who is now an Australian citizen – was detained in the southern city of Guangzhou in January after a flight from New York
- After Australia issued a statement confirming his arrest and condemning his treatment, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told it to back off
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A Chinese-born Australian writer held in China since January has been formally arrested on suspicion of espionage, the Australian and Chinese governments said on Tuesday, amid growing diplomatic tension between Canberra and Beijing.
Yang Hengjun, a former Chinese diplomat turned online journalist and blogger, was detained in the southern city of Guangzhou while waiting for a transfer to Shanghai, after flying in from New York. He was later moved to the capital Beijing.
“Dr Yang has been held in Beijing in harsh conditions without charge for more than seven months,” Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement, adding Yang was formally arrested on suspicion of spying last Friday. Espionage is punishable by death in China.
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The arrest of Yang, 53, whose legal name is Yang Jun, comes as Beijing struggles to contain anti-government protests in Hong Kong, the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang confirmed Yang’s formal arrest on Friday on suspicion of espionage – and told Australia to back off.
I would like to stress that China is a country with rule of law
“China is strongly dissatisfied with Australia’s statement on this case. I would like to stress that China is a country with rule of law, and Australia should earnestly respect China’s judicial sovereignty, and not interfere in China’s handling of the case in accordance with the law in any way,” he said.
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