China has put Australian writer Yang Hengjun’s execution sentence on hold

NEW DELHI: Australia praised China’s decision on Monday to postpone Yang Hengjun’s execution as a writer and democracy blogger.

The newest development in Dr. Yang’s situation has deeply concerned Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who described it as “harrowing news for Dr. Yang, his family, and all who have supported him.”
Since his arrival in Guangzhou on January 19, 2019, together with his wife and adolescent stepdaughter, Dr. Yang has been detained by the Chinese government. He was put on trial for espionage in Beijing in May 2021 behind closed doors, and his judgment has being awaited. The punishment was not immediately made public by the Chinese court, however suspended penalties are usually converted to life sentences in China after a certain amount of time.
Yang, who was born in China, worked as a state security operative and diplomat before entering the private sector in Hong Kong and then Australia. In 2002, he obtained Australian citizenship. Supporters demanded Yang’s release so he could get medical attention after he told his family in August of last year that he thought he would pass away while being held because of a kidney cyst.
Australia would respond as strongly as possible, Foreign Minister Wong said, highlighting the ongoing critical need for Dr. Yang’s interests and well-being, including access to quality medical treatment.
Australian journalist Cheng Lei was freed from Chinese jail in October of the previous year, after almost three years of imprisonment for violating an embargo via a broadcast on a state-run television network. In recent years, the circumstances surrounding Yang and Cheng have come up often in high-level discussions between the two nations.