By Dominic Giannini and Kat Wong in Canberra
The Australian government will throw its weight behind supporting writer Yang Hengjun who received a suspended death sentence in China, but the prospect of a successful appeal has been described as unlikely.
Dr Hengjun received the suspended death sentence for the next two years with a life sentence to follow after being imprisoned on national security charges more than five years ago.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the decision ahead of parliament’s return on Tuesday.
“We have conveyed, to China, our dismay, despair, our frustration and to put it simply our outrage at this verdict,” he told reporters.
“This is a very harsh sentence on Dr Yang, who is a man who is not in good health and we’ll continue to make the strongest representations.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said all Australians were shocked by the decision and the “egregious behaviour” from China needed to be called out.
“I stand shoulder to shoulder with the Prime Minister in condemning the situation that Dr Yang finds himself in,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“Medical assistance needs to be provided as a matter of urgency.
“I think the president and others would do well to reconsider this matter because I think it not only has a very negative impact personally on Dr Yang but it also tarnishes the reputation of the People’s Republic of China as well.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said Australia’s ambassador to China will not be recalled as the government works to keep open lines of communication.
International law expert Don Rothwell said the Australian’s saving grace was his dual nationality, meaning an execution would open up diplomatic sensitivities.
“Once capital punishment has been imposed, execution follows very soon thereafter,” he told AAP, referencing China’s legal system.
“So there’s a bit of wriggle room in terms of this two-year period that allows China to save face by saying, ‘We have this good behaviour period in place’.”
But China was notorious for having an exceptionally low successful appeal rate, Professor Rothwell said.
The case was likely to become a “thorn in the side” of the diplomatic relationship but Australian governments had been loath to retaliate in other areas such as trade, he said.
“Australia’s greatest capacity to respond is through clear and consistent diplomacy,” Prof Rothwell said, adding partners such as the US and UK could also add diplomatic pressure.
Chinese ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian was hauled before foreign affairs department secretary Jan Adams for a diplomatic dressing down.
Dr Yang’s procedural and consular rights were respected during the trial before he was found guilty of espionage and had his property confiscated, China foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
“The People’s Court heard the trial in strict accordance with the law,” he said.
Australian officials were allowed regular consular visits and to attend the sentencing, he said.
Dr Yang’s family maintained the writer’s innocence, with a spokesperson saying he was in jail “because he represents truth, democracy, respectful exchange of rational ideas”.
Human Rights Watch branded the sentence “catastrophic for Yang Hengjun and his family after years of arbitrary detention, allegations of torture (and) a closed and unfair trial without access to his own choice of lawyers”.
Dr Yang was first detained in 2019 on espionage charges but the case against him has never been publicly disclosed.
His trial was held in secret in May 2021.
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