BEIJING: Chinese-Australian writer Yang Jun was on Monday handed a suspended death sentence for espionage in China, Beijing said, five years after he was detained on a rare visit to his homeland.

The Chinese-born Australian citizen has been in jail since 2019 on spying allegations and is said to be in ill health. The writer, whose pen name is Yang Hengjun, has denied the allegations, telling supporters he was tortured at a secret detention site and that he feared forced confessions may be used against him.

His sentencing is one of China’s heaviest in a public trial for espionage in years.

Yang, who gained a huge following in exile for his spy novels and calls for greater freedom in his homeland, was sentenced by a Beijing court on Monday “in an espionage case”, the foreign ministry said.

“It found that Yang Jun was guilty of espionage, sentenced him to death with a two-year suspended execution, and confiscated all his personal property,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

Canberra has condemned the death sentence, which it said could be commuted to life in jail after a period of two years, during which time Yang would remain imprisoned.

“The Australian government is appalled at this outcome,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told a news conference. “We will be communicating our response in the strongest terms,” the Australian minister said.

Wong said the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, would be summoned to hear the government’s objection. “I want to acknowledge the acute distress that Dr. Yang and his family will be feeling today, coming after years of uncertainty,” she said.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2024