Australian forced to choose between food and clothes in Beijing jail

Beijing prison officials slashed jailed Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun’s access to food and hygiene products late last year in a move that triggered official complaints from Australia’s top diplomat in China.

Yang was detained by Chinese authorities six years ago this week and was handed a suspended death sentence last February after being found guilty of mysterious espionage offences.

Yang’s supporters, who say he has been subjected to torture-like conditions since his arrest, are calling on the federal government to forcefully speak out about his treatment even if it offends the Chinese government.

Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun was handed a suspended death sentence last year. Credit: AP

Sources familiar with Yang’s prison conditions said his monthly spending allowance was cut from 200 Chinese yuan ($44) to 100 yuan ($22) in November for three months because eyesight problems meant he could not carry out his assigned chores.

Yang told Australia’s ambassador to China, Scott Dewar, during a monthly consular visit on November 15 that he was facing “hard and harsh” conditions in prison.

Describing his reduced spending allowance as “unbearable”, Yang said he had been forced to choose between buying food, hygiene products and clothes.

Yang, who was suffering from the flu at the time, said he had not eaten fruit for several months and that he felt humiliated to have to ask fellow prisoners for basic food products such as soup.

The revelations about Yang’s conditions, which alarmed Dewar and fellow Australian diplomats, provide the most detailed view of his life inside Beijing’s Municipal No.2 prison, where he has been held since last June.

Yang reported that, despite Beijing’s frigid winter temperatures, he did not have a jumper because he did not have sufficient funds. During a subsequent consular visit, he said he had worn socks on his hands because gloves were not available.

Yang also reported that he could not afford to buy toothpaste despite suffering serious dental issues.

The Chinese-born pro-democracy blogger and academic worked for China’s Ministry of State Security before becoming an Australian citizen in 2002. His case was heard in secret in May 2021, with the details of the espionage charges never disclosed to the public.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised Yang’s case with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio De Janiero, held three days after Dewar’s November consular visit.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the G20 summit.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Like other prisoners, the 58-year-old has worked for eight hours a day sweeping and cleaning.

Sources familiar with Yang’s consular visits said that Dewar complained about Yang’s conditions to Beijing prison officials, telling them that the Australian should not have to choose between clothing, food and hygiene products.

The Chinese officials countered that Yang was receiving three meals a day as well as milk and an egg which should be enough to meet his dietary needs.

Dewar insisted that Yang’s basic nutrition and hygiene needs were not being met and that he needed access to soap, shampoo, shaving foam and toothpaste.

Dewar later told Yang that Australian officials had made representations to Chinese authorities in Canberra and Beijing about the halving of his spending allowance and its impacts on his health and nutrition.

Yang said he feared he would die as a political prisoner in China in 2023 after being told he had a 10-centimetre cyst on one of his kidneys.

A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government had made clear it was “appalled at Dr Yang’s suspended death sentence”.

“The government advocates for Dr Yang at every opportunity, at the highest levels, and we will continue to do so,” the spokesperson said.

“This includes advocacy in support of Dr Yang’s interests and wellbeing, including access to appropriate medical care.

“Dr Yang has demonstrated remarkable strength during this difficult period. Our thoughts remain with him and his loved ones.”

Yang’s spending allowance was still reduced in December, but he reported feeling in better spirits than the previous month. His conditions in prison were better than when he was held in a detention centre run by the Ministry of State Security, he said.

While there he was confined with no sunlight, artificial lights on all night and a communal open toilet.

A spokesman from the Chinese embassy in Canberra said he was not in a position to comment about Yang’s treatment in prison.

Justin Bassi, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said he believed that Yang had been subjected to “regular acts of state-sanctioned mistreatment, which have frequently crossed the line over to torture”.

“The mistreatment of an Australian citizen cannot be glossed over as part of a compromise to help stabilise trade and cultural ties,” said Bassi, who served as chief of staff to Coalition foreign minister Marise Payne.

Bassi said he was concerned that the government no longer labelled Yang a victim of “arbitrary detention”, as the Morrison government did in 2021. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials last year informed a parliamentary committee there were no cases of Australians that it would describe as arbitrary detention.

Sophie Richardson, co-chief executive of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, said she understood that Yang had suffered “appalling” conditions since being arrested.

“Beijing made its disregard for the health of wrongfully detained peaceful critics lethally clear in Liu Xiaobo’s death,” she said, referring to the Nobel-Prize winning author and human rights activist who died in 2017 after a long bout with liver cancer in a Chinese jail.

“Canberra has to grapple with that spectre as it fights for Yang’s health and release”.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.