Australian father’s life in danger and should be Albanese’s top priority, friends say

Singapore: Securing the release of imprisoned Australian writer Yang Hengjun should be the number one priority for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing, friends of the Chinese government critic say, after journalist Cheng Lei arrived home on Wednesday.

Yang, who has spent more than four years in detention – one year longer than Cheng – has always maintained his innocence to charges of espionage and claims he is the victim of political persecution by the Chinese government.

Australians detained by Chinese authorities, Yang Hengjun and Cheng Lei. Credit: SMH/The Age

Australian officials and Yang’s family are worried about the health of the father of two. Yang’s condition has declined as he battles an untreated cyst on his kidney.

Albanese said on Wednesday he will visit Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the end of this year.

Yang’s friend and former PhD supervisor at the University of Technology Sydney, Feng Chongyi, said “his life is actually in danger”.

“It should be the number one priority,” Feng said.

In a video of emotional scenes at Melbourne Airport released on Thursday by the Australian government, Cheng hugged Foreign Minister Penny Wong after landing at Melbourne Airport.

“You don’t know how much your letter and your messages have helped me,” Cheng said in her first public words after her three-year nightmare in a Chinese prison ended on Wednesday.

Speaking to Albanese over the phone, Cheng said: “It’s because of you and all of the team at DFAT [Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] that I’m able to make it here in one piece.”

Wong said that Cheng was in “extraordinarily good spirits”.

“It was one of those rare moments that you have in this job. It was a privilege to meet her on behalf of all of Australia yesterday at the airport,” the foreign minister said.

Yang’s supporters had hoped for a deal that would have seen both Yang and Cheng arrive back in Australia at the same time, but now fear he will continue to be used as a political weapon by Beijing.

“I’m very happy that the Australian government secured the release of Cheng Lei,” said Feng. “It showed to us that there is no legal obstacle to release Yang Hengjun.”

Cheng pleaded guilty to the charge of “providing state secrets abroad” to secure her release after a 2 year and 11-month sentence was handed down on Wednesday. The sentence took time already served into account, meaning she could be released and expelled from China immediately.

Yang pictured with his wife, Yuan Xiaoliang.Credit:

The less than three-year sentence is one of the shortest available to the Chinese courts for alleged breaches of national security, and appears to be based primarily on a breach of contract with her Chinese employer.

Cheng worked for the Chinese state TV network CGTN for eight years before she was suddenly detained in August 2020 as diplomatic relations between Australia and China plummeted over human rights, trade sanctions and COVID-19.

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court said on Wednesday night that Cheng was “coaxed by personnel from an overseas agency”, violated the confidentiality clause signed with her employer and “illegally provided the state secrets she mastered at work to the overseas agency through her mobile phone”. The court did not provide any more detail about the specific incidents.

Albanese said that there was no transaction made between Australia and China to secure Cheng’s release and that her freedom was a result of China’s judicial system running its course.

“We don’t deal with China on a transactional basis,” he said. “We stand up for our values and make representations and we did so consistently. But we also do so diplomatically and in a way that a serious government should do.”

Yang worked for China’s Ministry of State Security two decades ago, before becoming a blogger and academic in Australia and later a Chinese daigou trader in New York. Feng said there was no evidence that Yang had engaged in any espionage. Like Cheng, Yang’s sentence has been delayed multiple times after a closed-door trial.

“It’s a political case. The law is actually a very convenient tool for Chinese authorities to target anyone,” said Feng. “But Yang is also practical. If he needs to admit to the charges he can do it as a pre-condition to release. It’s the easy path.”

Yang has written several letters to his wife and children from jail, detailing allegations of torture and declaring his innocence. “If something happens with my health and I die in here, people outside won’t know the truth,” he said in August.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Cheng embrace after the journalist returned to Australia.

There are at least 55 Australians imprisoned in China, including some on death row. Cheng’s release has given them hope that some of their loved ones might be reunited with them soon.

Wong said she had spoken to Cheng’s children, now aged 12 and 14, while their mother was detained.

“Her kids [are] not much older than mine,” she said. “I made them a promise some time ago [that] I would do everything I could to bring her home, and it was wonderful to see them together.”

“I think I was more emotional than she was. So I think she’s pretty tough,” Wong said, adding that Cheng had asked what she could do for Australia.

“You can thrive – thrive and be healthy and happy,” she said. “That’s what Australians want you to do.”

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