Yang Hengjun
Born1965 (age 58–59)
Hubei, China
NationalityAustralian
OccupationBlogger

Yang Hengjun (simplified Chinese: 杨恒均; traditional Chinese: 楊恒均; pinyin: Yáng Héngjūn born 1965), legally known as Yang Jun[1] (杨军; 楊軍; Yáng Jūn), is a Chinese-Australian writer and blogger.[2]

According to Yang's own accounts, he studied at Fudan University.[1] After graduating, Yang worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. China's Foreign Ministry denied Yang had ever been employed by the ministry, according to a Reuters report in 2019.[1] From 1992 to 1997, Yang worked in Hong Kong as the manager of a mainland Chinese company. Afterwards, he went to the U.S. as a senior fellow of the Atlantic Council. Yang is regarded as a divisive figure among overseas Chinese dissidents and activists.[1] Yang is currently under arrest by the Chinese Government, facing one charge of espionage, but the basis of the charge was unknown.[3]

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on 1 November 2023 that his family has written to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to help "save" Yang.[4]

Personal life

Yang moved to Australia in 1999 and completed a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Technology Sydney.[5] He became an Australian citizen in 2002.[6] He has claimed that he is still a Chinese citizen but Chinese nationality law does not recognise dual nationality; the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was unable to clarify his citizenship status.[7]

Yang was a visiting scholar at Columbia University in New York for two years before being detained in China in January 2019.[8] Yang is married to a prominent nationalist blogger, Yuan Ruijuan (alternate: Yuan Xiaoliang).[1]

Career

According to The New York Times, Yang was a diplomat for the People's Republic of China, working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[8][9] The Foreign Ministry denied Yang had ever been employed by the ministry, according to a Reuters report in 2019.[1]

Based on his abundant personal experience "within the Chinese system", Yang wrote spy novels in English and Chinese, under the pen name Wei Shi.[8][1] His first novel, Fatal Weakness, is the first in his spy trilogy using himself as a role model. It is the story of a U.S.-China double agent who ultimately works for neither side but instead serves his own personal agenda. It is only available on his blog and is written only in Chinese. There are no other translations available.

In the U.S., Yang spent most of his time running a “daigou” store on China's popular mobile platform WeChat, selling luxury bags, vitamins, baby formula, and watches procured overseas for buyers inside China.[1] Some critics said Yang stopped criticising the ruling Chinese Communist Party in favour of protecting his personal and business interests.[1]

Detentions

2011

On 20 March 2011, it was alleged Yang disappeared from Guangzhou airport after phoning a friend to report that three men were following him. Commentators believe that he was detained as a result of the government crackdown on activists, lawyers, and bloggers following calls for a 'Jasmine' revolution in China since February 2011. He later contacted his family in Australia saying his disappearance was all a "misunderstanding" and "I've been sick, nothing else, and my phone battery was dead for two days so I could not contact my family. I'm very sorry about stirring up so much trouble in both countries."[10]

2019

On 18 January 2019, he was again detained by Chinese authorities. He had arrived in Guangzhou from the U.S. due to the imminent expiry of his family's visas, with his wife and daughter. He was awaiting Australian visas for his wife and daughter. During a connection, he was arrested while on his way to the connecting flight to Shanghai.[8][9] Yang's detention was believed to relate to his international connections, according to Feng Chongyi, an academic at the University of Technology in Sydney.[1]

Yang was charged with espionage in August 2019. Australian barrister Julian McMahon is said to be assisting with the case.[11] Sentences for espionage under Chinese law range from 3 years imprisonment to death.

On 29 August 2019, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Nine News, "These suggestions that he's acted as a spy for Australia are absolutely untrue and we'll be protecting and seeking to support our citizen, as we have been doing now for some period of time."[12]

On 21 May 2021 the Australian foreign minister, Marise Payne, in a statement on Yang's upcoming trial, said that "despite repeated requests from Australian diplomats Chinese authorities have not provided any explanation or evidence for the charges facing Dr Yang”, and called on Chinese authorities to allow access to his lawyer and to Australian consular officials in advance of his trial.[13] A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Canberra responded to Payne’s “deplorable” comments and called on Australia to respect China’s judicial sovereignty.[14]

In a letter dictated from prison in March 2021, Yang said he has been interrogated over 300 times by many different people, sometimes while shackled and blindfolded, and as a result of his 26-month detainment he had experienced a decline in health. He also expressed the hope that he could one day return to Australia, where he might "have more chances to tell readers what’s going on around the world, and what’s going on in me. If I get out, I will write articles to improve Australia-China relations and that will help China to understand the world, and the world to understand China.”[15]

2021 Trial

On 27 May 2021, after 28 months in custody,[16] Yang appeared before a closed-door court in Beijing, charged with espionage. Wearing a full protective suit, mask, and goggles, despite Beijing recording no new community transmission of COVID-19 for almost four months, Yang pleaded not guilty. Australian consular officials were barred from observing the trial despite a bilateral agreement that is supposed to ensure access to court hearings involving Australian citizens in China.[17]

On 31 May the Associated Press published Yang's account of the trial as circulated amongst his friends, in which he told supporters he had asked for the judge to reject the evidence of what he had said while being tortured by interrogators. Yang also said the judge refused his request to submit evidence and call witnesses in his defense, though he agreed to attach nearly 100 pages of defense material to Yang's case file.[18]

In January 2022, it was reported that Yang, who along with the Australian government continued to maintain his innocence, was suffering from seriously deteriorating health. Observers considered it nevertheless unlikely that he would be released before his sentencing scheduled, after repeated delays, for 9 April 2022.[19][20]

Political activism

During the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay and ensuing protests, Yang called for Chinese students in Australia to show restraint, and warned that overt Chinese nationalism might create racial tensions between Asians and white Australians.[21]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Shepherd, Christian; Packham, Colin (27 January 2019). "Spy novels, 'daigou' and democracy: the many lives of Australian..." Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  2. ↑ "Beijing formally accuses detained Chinese-Australian writer of spying". CBC. Associated Press. 27 August 2019. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  3. ↑ Barrett, Jonathan; Packham, Colin (27 August 2019). "Australian writer held for seven months in China faces espionage..." Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  4. ↑ "Family of Australian writer Yang Hengjun plead for PM to raise case during Beijing visit". ABC News. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Bagshaw, Eryk (19 January 2023). "Wong 'deeply troubled' by ongoing delays for Australian jailed in China". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  6. ↑ Doherty, Ben (10 October 2020). "Yang Hengjun: Australian writer held in China for almost two years officially charged with espionage". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Xiao, Bang; Christina, Zhou (1 February 2019). "Yang Hengjun: Controversy surrounds detained Australian-Chinese writer's relations with Beijing". ABC News. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Damien Cave; Chris Buckley (23 January 2019). "Chinese-Australian Writer Yang Hengjun Detained in China". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019. Mr. Yang, [...] who worked for the Chinese foreign ministry[...]
  9. 1 2 Nick McKenzie; Fergus Hunter; Kirsty Needham (23 January 2019). "China confirms detention of Australian blogger Yang Hengjun". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019. The confirmation that Yang, [...] former Chinese diplomat,
  10. ↑ Wong, Edward (2 April 2011). "Australia Inquires About a Writer Missing in China". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  11. ↑ Fergus Hunter, Kirsty Needham "'Very concerned': China charges Australian writer with 'espionage" https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/spying-for-australia-australian-writer-yang-hengjun-charged-with-espionage-20190827-p52l30.html Archived 27 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ Angus Watson; Steven Jiang (29 August 2019). "Australian PM says detained writer Yang Hengjun is not a spy". CNN. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "Statement on Dr Yang Hengjun". Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "'No-one else will know what's going on': Australian faces Beijing court alone on espionage charges". www.abc.net.au. 27 May 2021. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  15. ↑ "Yang Hengjun: Australian writer says he is unafraid of 'suffering and torture' ahead of trial in China". the Guardian. 26 May 2021. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Yang Hengjun faces verdict in China following espionage trial, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 16 June 2021, archived from the original on 21 August 2021, retrieved 21 August 2021
  17. ↑ "Australian Yang Hengjun forced to wear full PPE as he faces espionage trial in China". www.abc.net.au. 28 May 2021. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  18. ↑ "Australian writer accused of spying in China says he was tortured". www.9news.com.au. June 2021. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  19. ↑ Doherty, Ben (17 January 2022). "'They treat me like dirt and tortured me': Australian activist on three years in Chinese prisons". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "China: RSF calls for release of three foreign journalists accused of espionage | Reporters without borders". RSF. 13 August 2021. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  21. ↑ John Garnaut; Maya Li (19 April 2008). "Chinese writer's call for restraint unleashes firestorm". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
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