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China says Australia writer held on national security charge
BEIJING (AP) ‐ China on Thursday said it has detained a Chinese-Australian writer for allegedly "endangering China’s national security," a vague charge frequently leveled at critics of the ruling Communist Party.Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying offered no details about the charge against Yang Hengjun, a novelist and online commentator, in response to a question at a daily news briefing. "According to our understanding, the Australian national Yang Hengjun was suspected of engaging in criminal activities endangering China’s national security," Hua said. "At present, the case is being handled according to law, and Yang Hengjun’s legitimate rights and interests have been fully guaranteed," she said. Hua said Yang’s case was in the hands of the Beijing city branch of the national intelligence bureau, potentially raising it to a higher level of scrutiny by state authorities. She said Australia’s embassy in China had been informed of the measures taken against him. Friends said Yang, 53, had been living in New York as a visiting scholar at Columbia University with his wife and her child and had returned to China last week. Australia raised the issue of his disappearance on Wednesday. Posted by: Besoeker 2019-01-24 |
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