Australian writer detained in Beijing told supporter he was a former Chinese spy

In the letter he wrote to his former teacher, Yang said he had worked for China’s Ministry of State Security for a decade from 1989, including in Hong Kong and Washington, before moving to Australia.

The 55-year-old, who became a well-known pro-democracy blogger, faces 10 years or more in jail after Chinese authorities charged him with endangering national security by joining or accepting a mission from the unidentified espionage organisation, according to Feng Chongyi, the Sydney-based scholar to whom Yang sent the letter.

Yang has previously proclaimed his innocence, saying last month: “I will never confess to something I haven’t done.”

Feng revealed the letter’s details about Yang’s past as a Chinese spy for the first time, which had been rumoured in overseas Chinese dissident circles, as a pre-emptive move to counter potential misinformation at Yang’s trial over spying for another country.

Reuters was unable to independently verify Yang’s claim that he spied for China and some other details of his letter.