Australia Says Citizen’s ‘Interrogation’ by China Unacceptable

(Bloomberg) -- Australia has labeled the treatment of a writer detained in China on suspicion of espionage as “unacceptable”, urging authorities to release him as tensions between the nations mount.

Yang Hengjun, a Chinese native who's now an Australian citizen, was detained in the southern city of Guangzhou in January after a flight from New York. While the precise nature of the allegations of espionage allegations aren't clear, his lawyer has said they could relate to his “democracy activism.”

Yang's “circumstances of detention include increased isolation from the outside world, with restrictions on his communications with family and friends, and the resumption of daily interrogation, including while shackled,” Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement on Monday.

Chinese Spies Spook Democracies From U.S. to Europe to Australia

At the time of his detention, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said Yang was being investigated for “criminal activities endangering national security.” Yang previously was a Chinese foreign affairs official in Beijing, before becoming an Australian citizen and novelist, the Australian newspaper reported earlier this year.

Earlier on Monday, Australia announced it would spend A$87.8 million ($59 million) on a new taskforce to tackle the threat of foreign interference, amid continued headlines about meddling in the nation's political affairs by China -- which is also its largest trading partner.

“This is a boost to our ability to discover, track and disrupt foreign interference in Australia,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a separate statement. It will “strengthen Australia's analysis of the sophisticated disinformation activities happening across the world, particularly against democratic processes and elections.”

There are increasing concerns that China is becoming bolder in undermining democracies, with reports in recent weeks that suspected Chinese operatives tried to fund a candidate to run for a parliamentary seat in Melbourne, while a self-professed Chinese spy has offered intelligence information to Australia and is seeking asylum.

The new taskforce will be led by a senior officer from the Australian Security Intelligence Organization and draw on the federal police, the financial crimes agency and the cyber intelligence agency. Meanwhile, Payne said the government will continue to lobby for Yang's release and for fair and humane treatment while he remains in custody.

“We have made repeated requests to the Chinese authorities for an explanation of the charges,” Payne said in the statement. “We have also made repeated requests for him to be afforded basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment, in line with international norms, including access to his lawyers and to his family, both of which continue to be denied to him. This has not led to any substantive changes in his treatment.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Scott in Canberra at jscott14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Edward Johnson

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