Yang Hengjun

Yang Hengjun ( born October 10, 1965 ), legally known as Yang Jun , is a Chinese-Australian writer and businessman who is imprisoned by Chinese authorities on spying charges.

Yang was born in China and worked for the Ministry of State Security there for ten years. He then emigrated to Australia, became an Australian citizen, wrote spy novels and pro-democracy blog posts, and obtained a Ph.D. in China Studies. In 2017 he moved to the U.S. as a visiting scholar at Columbia University. He ran an online store for Chinese buyers from the U.S.

In January 2019 Yang flew into Guangzhou to renew visas for his family and was arrested by the Chinese Government. He faced one charge of espionage, but the basis of the charge was unknown. He was subsequently found guilty and handed a sentence of death with reprieve in February 2024.

Life and career Born in Hubei, China in 1965, Yang Hengjun graduated with a degree in politics from Fudan University in China in 1987. He then worked for the Ministry of State Security for ten years before he resigned. He has claimed that he is still a Chinese citizen but Chinese nationality law does not recognise dual nationality.

Between 2002 and 2005 he wrote three spy novels in Chinese.

From 2010 to 2014, Yang published several books in Chinese collecting writings from his blog. In December 2014, Yang assumed the role of chairperson for the newly established International New Media Cooperation Organization (INMCO), an alliance comprising pro-PRC media globally. During his inauguration speech, Yang expressed that the primary objective of INMCO is to "tell China's story well, spread China's voice well".

Yang was a visiting scholar at Columbia University in New York for two years before being detained in China in January 2019.

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. He was arrested while on his way to the connecting flight to Shanghai.

Yang was charged with espionage in August 2019. Australian barrister Julian McMahon is said to be assisting with the case. 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."

Yang's detention was believed to relate to his international connections, according to Feng Chongyi, an academic at the University of Technology in Sydney and Yang's former Ph.D. advisor. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Canberra responded to Payne's "deplorable" comments and called on Australia to respect China's judicial sovereignty.

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."

2021 trial On 27 May 2021, after 28 months in custody, 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.

On 31 May the Associated Press published Yang's account of the one-day 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.

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

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

Following multiple suspensions and delays to his trial verdict, it was announced on 5 February 2024 that Yang was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, which may allow Yang's death sentence be commuted to life imprisonment if he maintains good behaviour in prison. The verdict sparked an international outcry, especially from the Australian government and Yang's family who questioned the validity of the ruling in Yang's trial.