The Buzz | China indicts Australian held for almost two years on spy charge

China moved to prosecute an Australian writer detained in the mainland for almost two years on spying charges, the latest strain on an increasingly tense relationship between Beijing and Canberra.
Beijing prosecutors indicted Yang Hengjun last Wednesday on allegations of espionage, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing yesterday. Yang, a Chinese-born Australian national who’s also known as Yang Jun, became well known as a writer and commentator after previously working as a Chinese foreign affairs official in Beijing, according to the Australian newspaper.
“The relevant Chinese authorities are handling the case strictly and in accordance with the law, and fully protecting Yang Jun’s lawful rights,” Zhao said Monday in Beijing. He was detained in Guangzhou in January 2019 after flying in from the U.S., and was formally arrested on espionage allegations that August.
The Foreign Ministry gave no other details on the allegations against Yang, which is typical of cases being tried in China’s notoriously opaque judicial system. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison this weekend urged transparency in the case, saying there should be a “fair and just process” for Yang.