China-Australia ties: Yang Hengjun to stand trial next week

Writer, who has been in detention for more than two years, will face charge of spying in closed-door trial

Yang has spoken with his lawyers, ‘but his family have been denied access’, his friend says

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Australian writer Yang Hengjun has been in detention in China since January 2019. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:30pm, 21 May 2021Updated: 12:33am, 23 May 2021

Chinese-born Australian novelist Yang Hengjun, who has been detained for more than two years in Beijing, will be tried behind closed doors on Thursday on charges of espionage.

The Australian government said on Friday that Chinese authorities have notified them about the trial, which will be held on May 27. It urged China to grant Yang access to his lawyer and to Australian consular officials in advance of his trial.

“We have conveyed to Chinese authorities, in clear terms, the concerns we have about Dr Yang’s treatment and the lack of procedural fairness in how his case has been managed,” the Australian government said in a statement.

”This has been a closed and opaque process to date,” the Australian government said, pledging it will continue to advocate for Yang’s rights and to provide consular assistance to Yang and his family.

Yang’s friend Feng Chongyi, a professor at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia, said via email on Friday that “Yang’s lawyers have had access to him but his family have been denied access.”

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