Yang Hengjun: Australia presses for writer's release as China warns against interference

Marise Payne says arrest on spying charges does not appear to be retribution for any Australian policies to Beijing

Australia will continue to press for Yang Hengjun’s release, despite the Chinese government demanding Canberra stop interfering in the high-profile case, Australia’s foreign minister has said, insisting the Australian’s arrest on espionage charges is not a case of “hostage diplomacy”.

Yang, an Australian author and pro-democracy blogger, has been detained, largely in solitary confinement, for seven months, and authorities in China have now announced he will be charged with espionage, an offence which potentially carries the death penalty.

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