Latest news with #YangHengjun
Free Malaysia Today
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Jailed Australian writer tells of suffering in Chinese prison
Chinese-born Australian writer Yang Jun is also known by his pen name Yang Hengjun. (AFP pic) SYDNEY : An Australian author jailed in China has detailed his 'unbearable' prison suffering in a letter to supporters, saying he still dreams of returning home one day. Chinese-born Australian writer Yang Jun has been jailed since 2019 on espionage charges he has forcefully denied. The author and academic, also known by pen name Yang Hengjun, was handed a suspended death sentence last year that could be downgraded to life in prison pending good behaviour. A former pro-democracy blogger who also wrote spy novels, Yang thanked all those who continued to call for his freedom. 'All of this solicitude and solace has helped me to bear what has been untold and unbearable suffering,' Yang wrote in a letter dated Jan 10, but released to media this week. Yang has previously told supporters that he was tortured at a secret detention site and that he feared forced confessions may be used against him. His Australia-based family said last year they had grave fears for his health after the discovery of a cyst growing on his kidney. 'Tears blur my vision,' Yang wrote in his latest letter, addressed to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. 'I know you and the Australian government endeavour to do your utmost to bring me home for medical care and reunification with my family.' Australian foreign minister Penny Wong has repeatedly called for Yang's release. 'Dr Yang writes of his great love for his country – and we want to see him home in Australia, reunited with his family,' Wong said in a statement. 'We continue to advocate for Dr Yang's interests and wellbeing at every opportunity and at the highest levels, including access to appropriate medical care.' Attempts to raise Yang's case have irked Chinese officials in the past, who have told Australia to stop meddling in their country's justice system. Yang was arrested on a trip back to China in January 2019. His closed-door trial was heard in Beijing in 2021.
The Standard
15-05-2025
- General
- The Standard
Australian prime minister speaks of Beijing prisoner's courage, resilience and hope
This undated file photo released by Chongyi Feng shows Yang Hengjun, left, and his wife Yuan Xiaoliang. (Chongyi Feng via AP, File)
Toronto Star
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Australian prime minister speaks of Beijing prisoner's courage, resilience and hope
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday spoke of the courage, resilience and hope of Australian citizen Yang Hengjun, who was convicted last year in China of espionage. The plight of the 59-year-old Chinese-born democracy blogger, who was arrested on arrival in China on a flight from New York in 2019, remains an impediment to an improving bilateral relationship between Canberra and Beijing.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Australian writer describes ‘unbearable suffering' in Chinese jail to Albanese as health worsens
Australian democracy activist Yang Hengjun has written an emotional letter to prime minister Anthony Albanese to express gratitude for his 'grave concerns' about his worsening health in a Chinese prison. Yang, who was arrested in 2019 at an airport in China 's southern city of Guangzhou, was given a suspended death sentence following a closed-door trial in February 2024 by a Chinese court on spying charges that he has denied. Supporters and family members of Yang have raised concerns over his worsening medical condition in the prison cell, where they say he has been treated poorly. His friends fear he may die during his incarceration. Writing from Beijing's No 2 Prison, Yang told the Australian prime minister 'words are now failing me' and tears blur his vision as he spoke of his 'untold and unbearable suffering' at the jail. 'Dear Prime Minister Albanese, words are now failing me. Tears blur my vision. I can only use a silent voice to thank you and all the people who care for and love me,' he wrote. "I feel all of your support beside me as I stagger through the hardest and darkest chapter of my life, allowing me to immerse in the warmth of humanity. "It has helped me to understand the value of words and deeds of a government of the people, by the people, for the people – to enable me to fully understand the true meaning of being an Australian citizen.' Yang wrote the letter on 9 January to the Australian prime minister on what he said was the sixth anniversary of his incarceration in a Chinese jail. Mr Albanese confirmed Yang wrote to him during his diplomatic visit to Indonesia, a day after he was sworn into office on Tuesday for a second term after his 3 May election victory. Canberra wants to see Yang "home in Australia, reunited with his family", foreign minister Penny Wong said in response to the missive. "The prime minister and I were deeply moved by Dr Yang's letter a message of profound courage, resilience and hope despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances," she said in a statement. 'Dr Yang writes of his great love for his country – and we want to see him home in Australia, reunited with his family,' Ms Wong added. 'We continue to advocate for Dr Yang's interests and wellbeing at every opportunity and at the highest levels, including access to appropriate medical care. Our thoughts remain with Dr Yang and his loved ones.' A suspended death sentence in China grants a two-year reprieve from execution, before automatically getting converted to life in jail, or more rarely, a fixed term. The sentence, handed down three years after his closed-door trial on espionage charges, shocked his family, including two sons who live in Australia, and supporters. The Australian government has called his sentence "harrowing" and "appalling" with successive prime ministers lobbying for his release. Concerns have been raised over the 58-year-old's health condition in prison with revelation that he has a large cyst on one of his kidneys. Yang's friend, Sydney-based China academic Feng Chongyi, earlier said Yang is 'a sick man in prison that has suffered from a heart condition, liver condition, especially his kidney condition, and other health conditions as well." In his letter, Yang remembered Australia for its core values and said he also loves China, his motherland, saying he does not regret writing a single word supporting reform policies working for the Chinese government. 'All of this renders with greater clarity than before that Australia is defined not only by its blue sky, beautiful beaches, vast lands and boundless oceans. It is also defined by strong faith, common values, and a far-reaching vision based on facts and virtue,' he wrote. 'As a young and humble nation, we've firmly embraced multiculturalism'. Yang, a Chinese-born Australian citizen, was a pro-democracy blogger. He worked as an employee of China's Ministry of State Security from 1989 to 1999 and was accused of spying for a country China has not publicly identified in a case whose details have not been made public. Yang wrote about Chinese and US politics as a high-profile blogger and also wrote a series of spy novels before his detention.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Yang Hengjun: Australian writer pens letter from Chinese jail
An Australian novelist jailed in China has in a letter to his supporters and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese detailed his "unbearable suffering" as he enters his sixth year in detention. Chinese-born Yang Hengun was last year handed a suspended death sentence by a Beijing court on espionage charges, something he denies. In his letter, he thanked Albanese, saying he and the Australian government were doing their "utmost to bring me home for medical care and reunification iwth my family". Foreign minister Penny Wong said in a statement that she and Albanese were "deeply moved" by Dr Yang's letter and wanted to "see him home in Australia, reunited with his family". Dr Yang, who previously worked for China's Ministry of State Security, blogged about Chinese state affairs, but his writings often avoided direct criticisms of the was living in New York but travelled to Guangzhou in January 2019 with his wife and her child - both Chinese citizens - on a visa run when he was intercepted at the case has mostly unfolded behind closed doors since then and in 2024, he was handed the suspended death sentence, which is typically converted to life imprisonment after two the time, Albanese described the sentence as an "outrage".But China maintains that Yang's case was "rigorously handled" in accordance with the law. It also warned Australian officials not to interfere in the Yang had denied the charges but did not appeal the ruling out of concerns that it would delay medical care, his family said. There have been worries about his declining health, after a large cyst on one of his his latest letter, Dr Yang thanked the country's leaders as well as the Australian Embassy in China for their support during the "hardest and darkest chapter" of his life."All of this solicitude and solace has helped me to bear what has been untold and unbearable suffering," he said that he still loved both China and Australia - the former the "motherland in which [he] was born, brought up in, and made strong", and the latter his "beloved children's motherland"."I have a dream. That there is no war, no bullying, no incivility. People of different colours, cultures, and nationalities love each other like sisters and brothers."Wong described Yang's letter as "a message of profound courage, resilience and hope despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances".Several people in both countries have been arrested and charged with espionage and foreign interference as ties between both countries have been shaky in recent 2023, Chinese-Australian businessman Sunny Duong was found guilty of trying to influence a former minister with same year, Australian journalist Cheng Lei was released after more than three years of detention in China on accusations of "illegally supplying state secrets overseas".
