Australia on Thursday warned that China’s handing of a suspended death sentence to writer Yang Jun will hinder ties that had been on the mend and fuel public mistrust of Beijing.
“Decisions of this nature will have an impact on the relationship,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told lawmakers, addressing the sentence imposed on Chinese-Australian dissident Yang for alleged espionage.
“This decision will inevitably reverberate for Australians who feel deeply about this tragic development,” she said, suggesting it was “unfortunately true” that it would harm the way the Chinese system is viewed.
The sentence sent a chill through Australia-China relations, which had been improving after a years-long standoff. But Wong vowed to keep up engagement.
“We do know we have vastly different systems, it doesn’t mean we won’t continue the dialogue,” Wong said.
“I would say that our national interest requires us to engage, I would say that Dr Yang’s interests require us to continue to engage.”
Yang, a Chinese-born Australian citizen has been in jail since 2019 on spying allegations, which he has denied.
He has told supporters of being tortured at a secret detention site and expressed fear that forced confessions may be used against him.
Earlier, Australia’s foreign ministry had said it understood his sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment if no “serious crimes” are committed for two years.
Relations between Canberra and Beijing nosedived in 2018, when Australia excluded the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from its 5G network.
Then in 2020, Australia called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19 — an action China saw as politically motivated.
In response, Beijing slapped high tariffs on key Australian exports, including barley, beef and wine, while halting its coal imports.
