Australian citizen, potentially facing the death penalty on an espionage charge, begs PM to ‘please help me’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Scott Morrison has called China’s allegation that an Australian writer detained in Beijing is a spy “absolutely untrue” after Yang Hengjun issued a plea to the Australian prime minister to “please help me go home as soon as possible”.

Morrison said he respected China’s sovereignty, “but we do expect Australians, indeed all citizens, to have their human rights appropriately looked after”.

He spoke after Yang – potentially facing the death penalty on charges of espionage – thanked supporters for their assistance and said he was indebted to the Australian embassy for continuing to visit him and advocate on his behalf.

Yang Hengjun: Australia presses for writer's release as China warns against interference Read more

“A [ministry of state security] investigation officer told me that Australia was small and wouldn’t care about me,” the writer said in a message relayed through a consular official on Tuesday. “He said Australia was dependent on China for its trade and economy, and Canberra wouldn’t help me, let alone rescue me.

“He said Australia wouldn’t help because I am not white.

“This is nonsense. He was wrong. I am extremely grateful to the Australian prime minister, foreign minister and members of parliament, the embassy team, and the ambassador for their help.”

Held for seven months, largely in solitary confinement, by Beijing’s ministry of state security, Yang was last week informed he was being formally arrested and would be charged with a single count of espionage. He has not been given any detail about his alleged offence.

There are a range of espionage charges under Chinese law, carrying penalties from three years imprisonment to execution.

The 54-year-old author, blogger and and pro-democracy campaigner is allowed one half-hour meeting with embassy staff each month, but he has not been allowed to meet with his lawyers or with his family members. His wife, an Australian permanent resident, has been banned from leaving China.

On Thursday morning Morrison said the Australian government was concerned about Yang. “There’s their own justice process that they’ll follow in China and that’s appropriate, but these suggestions that he’s acted as a spy for Australia are absolutely untrue,” he told Nine’s Today program.

Yang said he had devoted 15 years to writing for China, for Chinese people and for reform of the country’s political system. He said he had worked to improve China’s relations with the US and Australia, and did not deserve the kind of treatment he had experienced.

Yang’s detention in January and now formal arrest have strained relations between Beijing and Canberra, already laboured over a range of issues: the Chinese telco Huawei’s 5G ban by Australia’s foreign investment review board; allegations of Chinese espionage in Australia; Chinese influence in Australian education and political systems; and Beijing’s military expansionism in the South China Sea.

The Australian government has repeatedly denied that Yang was a spy working on its behalf. “There is no basis for that allegation,” said the foreign minister, Marise Payne. “We are seeking for Dr Yang’s detention, obviously ,for him to be released in the first instance, particularly if he is only being held for his political beliefs.

“But … if he is to be detained, that he is detained in accordance with the expectations afforded to him through conventions and international law and they include access to lawyers, and they include appropriate conditions of detention.”

In response, China warned Australia against advocating on Yang’s behalf.

“China deplores the Australian statement on this case,” said the foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang. “I would like to reiterate that China is a country with rule of law. Australia should respect China’s judicial sovereignty and not interfere in any way in China’s lawful handling of the case.”

Geng insisted Yang was being afforded due process. “The national security organ handles the case in accordance with law and fully guarantees Yang’s rights. He is in good physical condition.”

Yang was formerly a diplomat for China’s ministry of foreign affairs, before working in the private sector in Hong Kong and moving to Australia, then the US. A novelist under the nom de plume Wei Shi, he has been a popular blogger, political commentator and agitator for democratic reforms in China for more than a decade.

Yang, who became an Australian citizen in 2002, was a visiting scholar at Columbia University before he flew to Guangzhou with his family in January. His wife and child were able to enter China but authorities escorted Yang from the plane into detention.

Kevin Rudd accuses Liberals of stirring up hysteria about China Read more

The Chinese government has made politically motivated arrests in the past, detaining foreign nationals either as retribution for an act or perceived slight, or as leverage – a bargaining chip – in diplomatic negotiations.

The Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in December, arrests described by Beijing’s ambassador to Canada as “retaliation” for the arrest in Canada of a senior executive from Huawei.

Sources have told Guardian Australia there is concern in some circles that Yang’s arrest marks a further escalation in this “hostage diplomacy” tactic.

But Payne said she did not believe Yang’s arrest was an example of hostage diplomacy. “We have no reason to think it [Yang’s arrest] is connected to other issues,” she said.

Others have said the decision to arrest Yang was a reflection of his influence as a pro-democracy campaigner. While he has softened his political commentary in recent years, Yang remains globally influential and has an online audience in the millions.