Aussie diplomat barred from Beijing trial of blogger for spying

BEIJING • Australia's ambassador to China was denied entry yesterday to a heavily guarded Beijing court that is hearing an espionage case against Australian blogger Yang Hengjun, at a time of worsening ties between the two nations.

China said the case involved state secrets and so could not be heard in open court.

Yang, an Australian citizen born in China, wrote about Chinese and US politics online as a high-profile blogger and also penned a series of spy novels before his detention two years ago.

Ambassador Graham Fletcher said it is "deeply regrettable" that he was unable to enter the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court despite a bilateral consular pact allowing for diplomatic attendance at such hearings.

He told reporters outside the court that Australia has longstanding concerns about a lack of transparency in Yang's case and has "concluded it is an instance of arbitrary detention".

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing in Beijing: "The case involves state secrets, therefore it is perfectly reasonable and lawful that it was not heard openly and no one was allowed to observe."

He said Yang's rights are being fully protected.

"China firmly rejects Australia's groundless moves to disrupt its handling of the case in accordance with the law and to meddle in our judicial sovereignty," Mr Zhao added.

Human Rights Watch said it is "alarming" that the Chinese authorities had denied observer status to Australian diplomats.

Diplomatic ties between the two nations have deteriorated sharply since Yang was detained, with China imposing trade sanctions on produce from Australia and reacting angrily to the Australians' call for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, as well as their 5G ban on telecoms giant Huawei.

Yang's case has been shrouded in secrecy, with no information released on which espionage agency he is alleged to have acted for. If convicted, he faces a jail term of 10 years or more on charges of endangering national security.

Human rights lawyers Mo Shaoping and Shang Baojun represented Yang at yesterday's proceedings, which continued into the afternoon as his lawyers responded to the charges, a friend of Yang's with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Yang's wife, Ms Yuan Xiaoliang, was unable to attend the court hearing after her application was rejected, friends told Reuters. She has not seen Yang since the couple were stopped at the southern airport of Guangzhou in January 2019 after arriving from New York, where they lived.

In previous messages passed to consular officials, Yang denied the espionage accusations against him and vowed not to confess to something he had not done.

In his last message in March to family and friends in Australia before the hearing, Yang said that his health had deteriorated but he had "no fear". "If someone wants to take revenge on me for my writings, please explain to the people inside China what I did, and the significance of my writing to people in China," he said, according to a copy of the message seen by Reuters.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne told ABC radio: "We are not interfering in China's legal system. The concerns we have raised are legitimate ones."

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG