CHINA’s top diplomat asked Australia to exercise patience amid calls to release Australian writer Dr. Yang Hengjun from detainment.
Dr. Yang was arrested at an airport in the Chinese City of Guangzhou while visiting the country in 2019.
The detained Australian writer and activist was a former employee of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He was charged with espionage during a court trial held in May 2021.
Five years on since his detainment, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong called on China to secure his immediate release.
Wong’s call on Friday coincides with the fifth anniversary of Dr. Yang’s detainment.
China’s Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, in a recent interview said that reports of Dr. Yang’s worsening health condition were not as exaggerated as what was described in public.
A few weeks before Albanese’s historic meeting with Xi, the Chinese government released Chinese-Australian journalist Cheng Lei after nearly three years of detention.
She was arrested in August 2020 on charges of “supplying state secrets overseas” — an allegation she denied.
The Chinese diplomat asked for respect and patience on Yang Henjun’s case as legal authorities in China continue working on the necessary process.
