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Supporters of pro-democracy writer Dr Yang Hengjun have called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to use today’s meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang to demand the Australian citizen’s release from detention on a suspended death sentence.
The call came as his backers said a “review” of Yang’s sentence upheld the original decision and after the Chinese premier separately declared the bilateral relationship was “back on track” during a weekend visit to South Australia.
China’s second most powerful man will meet with Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong today after yesterday visiting an SA winery – a symbolic move given the dropping of tariffs on Australian wine – and promising to send a new pair of pandas to Adelaide Zoo.
Yang’s supporters said he was innocent of the “spurious” espionage charges he was convicted of and reiterated concerns for his “serious and unaddressed” medical conditions behind bars.
“For these reasons, we urge Prime Minister Albanese to use his meeting with Premier Li Qiang to directly demand that Yang be released on medical parole or otherwise be transferred to safety in Australia, in accordance with basic humanitarian principles,” they said, in a statement released overnight.
“Clearly, it is not possible to achieve a stable, respectful bilateral relationship with China while their officials are threatening to execute an Australian political prisoner, without any semblance of due legal process.”
Albanese, who has pledged to raise Yang’s detention, is expected to partly echo Li’s description of the relationship as “back on track” while refusing to completely step back from conflict.
“We won’t always agree, and the points in which we disagree won’t simply disappear if we leave them in silence,” Albanese will reportedly say today, according to speech notes published by The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Creating channels of dialogue and building understanding is how we make it possible for benefits to flow.”
Yang’s supporters said he had been moved to a permanent prison after five years in a state security detention centre and thanked Australian officials for their advocacy so far.
“Yang is an Australian political prisoner who has been sentenced to death because of his writings in support of individual freedoms, constitutional democracy and rule-of-law,” they said.
In February, Yang was found guilty of espionage following a closed trial and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. Such sentences are often commuted to life in prison after the two years.
He declined to appeal the ruling a few weeks later, a decision understood to be driven by hopes the 59-year-old father-of-two could receive urgent medical treatment.
At the time, Wong described the court ruling as “harrowing for Yang and his family and promised Canberra would be “communicating our response in the strongest terms”.
Li’s trip has focused so far on the panda diplomacy, rebounding trade including wine and recovering diplomatic links after China initiated a reset of the relationship in 2022 that had all but collapsed during Australia’s previous conservative administration’s nine years in power.
Relations tumbled over legislation that banned covert foreign interference in Australian politics, the exclusion of Chinese-owned telecommunications giant Huawei from rolling out the national 5G network due to security concerns, and Australia’s call for an independent investigation into the causes of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“China-Australia relations were back on track after a period of twists and turns,” Li said on arrival on Saturday, according to a translation released by the Chinese Embassy in Australia on Sunday.
“History has proven that mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences and mutually beneficial cooperation are the valuable experience in growing China-Australia relations.”
Hundreds of pro-China demonstrators, human rights protesters and democracy activists gathered outside the zoo before Li’s visit.
Among the protesters was former Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui, who fled to Australia three years ago to avoid a prison sentence for his activism. He said the panda offer was a cynical move to soften China’s image and to distract from the government’s human rights failings.
“It’s a public relations move by the Chinese regime and, disappointingly, the Australian government is reciprocating by welcoming him and shaking hands,” Hui said.
Hui said Li showed cowardice by entering the zoo by a rear entrance while most of the protesters and China supporters had gathered at the main entrance. But Hui and other protesters were able to shout slogans at Li from a distance inside the zoo.
– Reported with Associated Press
