After being detained in Beijing for more than four years, Australian writer Yang Hengjun has been handed a suspended death sentence.
For Chinese Australians, the case and ruling set a concerning precedent, with some now expressing concerns for their own safety if they were to travel to China in the future.
According to the 2021 Census, 2.2 per cent of Australia’s population — 549,618 people — were born in China.
From 2016 to 2021, the number of people in Australia with Chinese ancestry increased from 1.2 million to 1.4 million, and Chinese was the second most common ancestry for first-generation Australians.
So what does Yang Yang Hengjun’s death sentence mean for the Chinese diaspora in Australia, and is it safe to travel to China?
Who is Yang Hengjun?
Yang is an Australian writer and pro-democracy activist. He was arrested in August 2019 on suspicion of espionage and has
Before being detained, Yang had posted comments critical of China’s government on social media.
He was charged in 2021 with endangering national security by joining or accepting a mission from an unidentified espionage organisation, which carries a sentence ranging from three years in prison to death.
He has denied working as a spy for Australia or the United States, but has been handed a suspended death sentence by a court in Beijing.
Will Yang Hengjun’s case impact Chinese Australians?
Han Yang, a former Chinese diplomat, said he anticipates the case will deter Australians considering travelling to China, particularly those with Chinese heritage.
He said Yang’s case, along with , showed a pattern of the Chinese government holding foreigners of Chinese descent as political prisoners.
“This is certainly very concerning, especially also considering the Chinese legal system is entirely at the whim of the Communist Party,” he said.
“It’s not independent, it’s not transparent, and any decision made by the court is essentially a decision made by the Chinese political leadership and based on their political interest.”
Chinese is one of the most common ancestries in Australia. Source: SBS News
He believes travellers of Chinese descent are more likely to be detained than those of other ethnicities.
“If they hold a person of Chinese origin, it will cause less media storm or media interest in the West compared to if they hold, say a Caucasian person. And that’s just a sad reality,” he said.
“The Chinese citizenship law is pretty vague and (the Chinese government) can interpret it whatever way they want.
“And sometimes they can still insist that even though you hold a foreign passport, you never gave up your Chinese citizenship and you’re still treated as a Chinese citizen in terms of criminal offence.”
‘I could be arrested’
Badiucao is an artist, political cartoonist and human rights advocate based in Australia, and described the death sentence as “shocking”.
“It’s shocking in that we understand China’s human rights record and the way they persecute dissidents that Yang Hengjun would be targeted, but what we didn’t expect is the sentence would be so severe and brutal,” he said.
“This is really triggering … it is casting a huge shadow, I believe, over the Chinese diaspora in Australia particularly, but also over the world as well.”
Badiucao, who has publicly supported Yang Hengjun and criticised the Chinese Communist Party, said Yang’s sentence was intimidating for Chinese people both inside and outside of China.
He said he believes he could face persecution if he travelled to China.
“I think that that is the real harm it has done; we have to regulate our speech and our behaviour in Australia or anywhere outside of China now in order to avoid being persecuted if we choose to go back,” he said.
“I believe if I go back to China or go anywhere around China … there is a possibility that I might be kidnapped or arrested and extradited back to China.”
Is it safe for Australian citizens to travel to China?
The Australian government’s Smartraveller website advises exercising a ‘high degree of caution’ around travelling to China.
“As previously advised, authorities have detained foreigners on the grounds of ‘endangering national security’,” the website says.
“Australians may be at risk of arbitrary detention or harsh enforcement of local laws, including broadly defined National Security Laws.”
Yang said professional writers and journalists, or those have expressed personal opinions online, should be particularly cautious if considering a trip to China.
“I think it is certainly wise to be cautious, especially for those who have expressed opinions about the Chinese politics or politcal system before,” he said.
“And it certainly wise, if you don’t have essential business to do in China, I would suggest not to go.”
SBS News contacted the Chinese Embassy in Australia for comment.
Speaking about Yang’s case, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said: “The people’s court heard the trial in strict accordance with the law and ensured that Yang Jun fully exercised his procedural rights.
“The court also respected and ensured the Australian side’s consular rights, including the right to consular visits and notifications, and arranged for the Australian side to sit in on the sentencing.”
