Key Points
- Yang Hengjun's family and friends have lashed out at his "political persecution".
- They've said an appeal would be "detrimental to his welfare".
- Yang was arrested in August 2019 on suspicion of espionage.
Australian writer Yang Hengjun has left open the prospect of life imprisonment in China, choosing .
Family and friends of the pro-democracy advocate issued a statement revealing Yang's decision, lashing out at his "political persecution", and stating an appeal would be "detrimental to his welfare."
"First, there are no grounds to believe that the system that enabled Yang's sustained torture and fabricated the charges against him is capable of remedying the injustice of his sentence," they wrote on Tuesday.
"Second, commencing an appeal would only delay the possibility of adequate and supervised medical care, after five years of inhumane treatment and abject medical neglect."
Yang was found guilty of espionage by a Chinese court earlier this month, after having already spent nearly five years in a Beijing prison.
Before being detained, he posted comments critical of China's government on social media.
His supporters have persistently raised concerns about Yang's ailing health while in prison, and in August medical authorities discovered a 10cm cyst on his kidney.
Yang has maintained his innocence, with his family adding his decision to forgo the appeals process "in no way changes that fact".
"Mentally, no one can destroy me," he wrote to friends before his sentencing.
"I have broken no laws, and I can withstand the judgement of … the public, conscience, history, and time."
Supporters urge government to pressure China for early release
Yang's sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment after two years if he does not commit any crimes during that period.
His family and friends have urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong to increase pressure on the Chinese government to release Yang from prison early.
"It is difficult to imagine a return to normal, healthy bilateral relations while an Australian political prisoner languishes in a Beijing jail," they wrote.
"We strongly appeal to the Chinese authorities to allow Yang Hengjun to be released on medical parole or otherwise transferred to safety in Australia."
Wong said the Australian government respects Yang's decision and will continue to advocate for him "at the highest levels."
"We will continue to press for Dr Yang’s interests and well-being, and provide consular assistance to him," she said.
Last October, after three years in a Beijing prison, accused of "supplying state secrets".
At the time, Wong said the government was "appalled" by Yang's outcome and would communicate its response to China "in the strongest terms."
