On February 5, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court publicly pronounced a first-instance verdict on Australian-Chinese writer Yang Jun (also known as Yang Hengjun), finding him guilty of espionage, sentencing him to death with a two-year reprieve, and confiscating all his personal property.
Australian writer Yang Jun was given a suspended death sentence in China, which not only shocked Australia, but also countries around the world have great interest in this case. It is indeed rare for a foreigner to be sentenced to a suspended death sentence for espionage in China, but as long as you listen to Yang Jun's past story, everyone will instantly understand that no one is to blame for this matter, this is Yang Jun's own finding.
Yang Jun, born in Hubei in 1965, graduated from Fudan, previously worked in China, engaged in international strategy research at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in the United States, in 1997, became a naturalized Australian citizen in 2002, and received a doctorate from the University of Technology Sydney soon after.
Yang Jun changed careers in Australia to become a writer, and his main job is the general manager of the Sydney Times, but in his spare timeYang Jun likes to write political spies**, among which the three most representative works are: "Achilles' Heel" and "Fatal **" Fatal Pursuit", "Achilles' Heel" tells the story of a Chinese and American spy, because it was written too realistically, it was finally found that Yang Jun was written based on himself
Yang Jun not only became a spy, but also published his spy experience into a book, and he didn't know what to say for a while. In August 2019, Yang Jun was arrested by the Beijing State Security Bureau on suspicion of espionage, and the first-instance verdict was completed on February 5, 2024, and the whole process was in accordance with the law.
Although the relationship between China and Australia has improved since 2023, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have visited China successively, but as far as this "Yang Jun espionage case" is concerned, it is purely one thing and one thing.
Since it comes to Australian spies, in addition to Yang Jun, it is natural to avoid the Chinese-Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who will be released in October 2023, after Cheng Lei was detained by China for three years on suspicion of *** crimes, Australia has run for Cheng Lei many times, but Cheng Lei was able to return to Australia smoothly, not because China was "soft", but because Cheng Lei's 3-year sentence was completed and she was deported.
Referring to the Chinese-Australian journalist Cheng Lei, this time the Chinese-Australian writer Yang Jun wants to return to Australia, and it is impossible to rely on the "rescue" of the Australian **, unless Yang Jun first carries the 2-year death reprieve, but when he is in prison, he strives to reduce his sentence, if the situation is good, it is not impossible for Yang Jun to return to Australia, but it all depends on Yang Jun's creation.
Objectively speaking, China should indeed treat spies more harshly, especially these "traitors", as for Yang Jun, such a strange person, writing a spy ** to write himself into a prison, I really don't know what Australia ** has to quibble, if Australia is really worried about damaging Sino-Australian relations, the most important thing to do is to stop cultivating spies, and fundamentally prevent spies from being caught.
The possibility that the Australian-Chinese writer Yang Jun was sentenced to a suspended death sentence will be a turning point in Sino-Australian relations is still very low, but this shows from the side that in the context of the continuous warming of Sino-Australian relations, China will also not give up its resolute defense of China.