China Indicts Australian Held for Almost Two Years on Spy Charge
China Indicts Australian Held for Almost Two Years on Spy Charge
(Bloomberg) --
China moved to prosecute an Australian writer detained in the mainland for almost two years on spying charges, the latest strain on an increasingly tense relationship between Beijing and Canberra.
Beijing prosecutors indicted Yang Hengjun last Wednesday on allegations of espionage, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing Monday. Yang, a Chinese-born Australian national who’s also known as Yang Jun, became well known as a writer and commentator after previously working as a Chinese foreign affairs official in Beijing, according to the Australian newspaper.
“The relevant Chinese authorities are handling the case strictly and in accordance with the law, and fully protecting Yang Jun’s lawful rights,” Zhao said Monday in Beijing. He was detained in Guangzhou in January 2019 after flying in from the U.S., and was formally arrested on espionage allegations that August.
The Foreign Ministry gave no other details on the allegations against Yang, which is typical of cases being tried in China’s notoriously opaque judicial system. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison this weekend urged transparency in the case, saying there should be a “fair and just process” for Yang.
Yang is the latest Australian media figure to find himself caught in the diplomatic standoff between Australia and China, its biggest trading partner. Cheng Lei, an Australian who works for China’s English-language state broadcaster CGTN, was detained in August and is being held over suspected state security violations.
Australian Broadcasting Corp. correspondent Bill Birtles and Mike Smith of the Australian Financial Review were forced to flee China last month after security agents sought them for questioning. Beijing last month accused Canberra of raiding the homes of four Chinese state-media journalists in Australia.
The announcement about Yang’s indictment came after Canada said its citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been held on the mainland for nearly two years, had received virtual visits from Ambassador Dominic Barton. It was the first consular access granted to the two men since January.
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With assistance from Bloomberg