Yang Jun, a Chinese-born Australian citizen, has been jailed since 2019 on espionage charges.
Sydney:
Australia warned on Thursday that China’s suspended death sentence for writer Yang Jun would hamper improvements in relations between the two countries and fuel public distrust of Beijing.
“A decision of this nature will have an impact on the relationship between the two countries,” Foreign Minister Wong Ying-yin told lawmakers about the sentencing of Chinese-Australian dissident Yang on suspicion of espionage.
“This decision will inevitably have an impact on Australians who are deeply saddened by this tragic development,” she said. She said it was an “unfortunate fact” that it would damage perceptions of China’s system.
The words sent a chill to Australia-China relations, which have been improving after years of standoff. But Huang vowed to keep in touch.
“We do know we have very different systems, but that doesn’t mean we won’t continue to have conversations,” Huang said.
“I would say our national interest requires us to participate, and I would say Dr. Yang’s interest requires us to remain engaged.”
Yang, a Chinese-born Australian citizen, has been jailed since 2019 on espionage charges, which he denies.
He told supporters he was tortured at a secret detention site and expressed concern that he might be forced to confess.
Previously, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs said that if he did not commit a “serious crime” within two years, his sentence may be reduced to life imprisonment.
Relations between Canberra and Beijing soured sharply in 2018 when Australia excluded Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from its 5G network.
Then in 2020, Australia called for an international inquiry into the origins of Covid-19 – a move that China said was politically motivated.
Beijing responded by imposing steep tariffs on key Australian exports such as barley, beef and wine, while halting coal imports.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
