China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, says that the years-long detentions of Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun should not affect bilateral ties.
“should not be a problem” affecting the overall state of bilateral ties between Canberra and Beijing, China’s top envoy to Australia says.
Ambassador Xiao Qian denied Ms Cheng and Dr Yang were political prisoners, amid fresh complaints from supporters over their treatment.“It’s basically a legal issue matter, I think it would be very helpful for the normal legal jurisdictional process for China be respected, be followed,” Mr Xiao told“These are individual cases. It should not be a problem affecting our overall relationship.”
Dr Yang, a writer and pro-democracy advocate, was detained in January 2019 at Guangzhou airport. Ms Cheng, a TV journalist whose young children remain in Australia, was detained in August 2020.Both have been charged with breaking China’s national security laws but full details of their alleged offences are opaque. Both have been
in a legal system with a 99 per cent conviction rate, but there has been no word of the verdicts or sentences., amid concerns he is not receiving appropriate medical care. He has previously claimed he was tortured and interrogated ahead of his trial.Ms Cheng’s partner, Nick Coyle, told Sky News on Thursday that Ms Cheng’s health had deteriorated and she was living off a diet of raw white rice. He also said monthly consular visits had been suspended.
“Recently I’ve been aware there has been concern they have been out of contact with their relatives in Australia and Australian diplomats in China. It’s possibly because of COVID, people are not supposed to meet freely as [they would] under normal conditions.”Connect with