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Linda Lew

Sarah Zheng

An Australian writer and former Chinese diplomat pleaded not guilty to espionage charges in a 6½-hour trial in Beijing on Thursday, according to one of his lawyers.
Yang Hengjun, 56, defended himself and remained calm throughout the hearing in the Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court, the lawyer said, declining to be named.
“[Yang] spoke throughout the process and gave long responses, sometimes for up to half an hour. He had a calm demeanour,” the lawyer said, adding that a decision had not been handed down.
The lawyer declined to give details of the case against Yang, saying state secrets were allegedly involved.
The hearing was off limits to family and observers.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne had called for a transparent and open process, and international standards of justice be met.
But Australian ambassador to China Graham Fletcher was stopped from entering the court and attending the proceedings in the Chinese capital, with authorities citing the threat from the coronavirus pandemic.
China-Australia ties: Yang Hengjun to stand trial next week
Yang was detained in 2019, accused of endangering national security, and formally charged with espionage in October last year.
The trial was delayed twice and the lawyer said it was difficult to know when a verdict would be handed down. In normal circumstances, the case would have already been tried and sentenced, the lawyer said.
The case has been closely watched by Yang’s friends and colleagues, including Feng Chongyi, an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney.
“The verdict can be postponed by Chinese authorities indefinitely,” he said after the trial on Thursday. “It is a prolonged agony.”
Yuan Ruijuan, Yang’s wife and an Australian permanent resident, has been prevented from leaving China since her husband’s detention.
She has been living in Shanghai and did not go to Beijing for the trial.
The Australian embassy was arranging to see Yang on Friday, the lawyer said.
The Australian embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China delays Australian writer Yang Hengjun’s espionage trial by three months: friend
In a letter to his supporters in March and released by Australian media on Wednesday, Yang said the charges had been brought against him to “take revenge on me for my writing”, but he had come to accept it.
“I will face suffering and torture with resilience,” the letter said. “Please explain to the people inside China what I did, and the significance of my writing to people in China.”
Tensions between China and Australia have been running high since Canberra called for an independent inquiry into the origins of Covid-19, prompting Beijing to respond with punitive sanctions against Australian imports.
Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who worked for state-run broadcaster CGTN in Beijing, has been detained in China since August on national security charges, and the last two accredited reporters for Australian media in mainland China fled the country last year over fears for their safety.
Foreign diplomats and journalists were also prevented from attending the trials in March of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, both of whom were detained in December 2018, soon after the detention in Canada of Chinese businesswoman Meng Wanzhou. The trials ended without a verdict.


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China-Australia relations

Australian writer Yang Hengjun ‘pleads not guilty to spying charges’

Australian ambassador to China Graham Fletcher walks out of the Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court after being denied access to the trial of Australian writer Yang Hengjun on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

China’s trial of Yang Hengjun begins with Australia’s ambassador denied access

The trial of Australian writer Yang Hengjun opened in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: Weibo

This undated frame grab taken from handout video by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) / Australia Global Alumni on September 1, 2020 shows Australian journalist Cheng Lei. - The Australian journalist detained without charge in China for at least a fortnight is a high-profile anchor for CGTN, the country's English-language state broadcaster. Cheng Lei has been held since at least August 14, 2020 without charge and with no reason being given for her detention. HANDOUT PHOTO

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

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

Australia accuses China of falling ‘short of basic standards of justice’ in Yang Hengjun spy case

Yang Hengjun, author and former Chinese diplomat, pictured in 2014. Photo: Handout via Reuters

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attends a press conference in Beijing on Aug. 27, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Chinese-Australian academic Yang Hengjun pictured in 2014. Photo: Handout via Reuters

China delays Australian writer Yang Hengjun’s espionage trial by three months: friend

Yang Hengjun, a prominent author and academic who is now an Australian citizen, will now go on trial on espionage charges in April 2021. Photo: Reuters

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China

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Yang remains calm during one-day trial in Beijing, lawyer says
Australian ambassador stopped from entering court over coronavirus risk



Yang remains calm during one-day trial in Beijing, lawyer says


Australian writer Yang Hengjun ‘pleads not guilty to spying charges’

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Yang remains calm during one-day trial in Beijing, lawyer says Australian ambassador stopped from entering court over coronavirus risk

Yang remains calm during one-day trial in Beijing, lawyer says

Australian ambassador stopped from entering court over coronavirus risk