Foreign Minister Marise Payne said China’s legal process was opaque.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Fletcher said on Thursday the embassy believed Yang was being held under arbitrary detention,where a person is charged without due process or evidence,but the statement from Payne elevates the allegation to an official government position.
“Given our enduring concerns about this case,including the lack of detail as to the charges and the investigation made available to Dr Yang and to Australia,we consider this to be an instance of arbitrary detention of an Australian citizen,” Payne said on Friday.
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It is the first time Australia has named China in an arbitrary detention case since diplomatic relations between the trading partners started to sour. In February,Australia signed a declaration against the use of arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations with 55 international partners,but did not name China.
Yang’s treatment has been linked to deepening diplomatic animosity between China and Australia after two years of public hostility over national security,human rights and trade.
The writer had spent a decade in Australia pushing for democratic reforms in China and criticising economic policy and corruption within the Chinese Communist Party after earlier working for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. He was visiting China after working in business and academia in the US when he was detained in 2019.
The one-day trial ended on Thursday with the court deferring its verdict and sentence. The 56-year-old now faces months waiting for either outcome,more than two years after he was forced from a plane into detention by Chinese authorities.