Australia Seeks Clarification On Blogger's Arrest

Australia on Thursday demanded China handle the case of detained author Yang Hengjun "transparently and fairly," amid a growing row about the fate of the Chinese-Australian.

Yang – a novelist, democracy advocate and former Chinese diplomat – was detained shortly after he made a rare return to China from the United States last week.

The authorities on the mainland have not publicly said why he was detained, or whether he is facing charges.

"Our embassy in Beijing will meet with Chinese authorities this morning to seek further clarification of the nature of this detention," Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement.

"We will continue to make representations to China to ensure that this matter is dealt with transparently and fairly," she added.

Once described as China's "most influential political blogger", Yang became an Australian citizen in 2000, but is currently based at New York's Columbia University.

He went missing during a 2011 trip to China, but resurfaced days later, describing his disappearance as a "misunderstanding".

But his current detention comes at a moment of high tension between Western countries and Beijing, prompting fears that he may be the victim of a dragnet by the mainland security services targeting foreigners.

The recent arrest of a senior executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei at Vancouver airport has been followed by the high profile arrests of two Canadians.

Yang's friend, University of Technology Sydney academic Feng Chongyi, said he believes Yang is being detained in Beijing by the Ministry of State Security on suspicion of espionage.

Feng, who has been in contact with Yang's family and friends, said Yang's detention was "directly linked to the Huawei case."

Feng said he had warned Yang against traveling to China in light of the Canadians' arrest. Yang had argued that he was safe because he had flown to China several times since taking the university job in New York in 2016.

This latest dispute over Yang is sure to be high on an already difficult agenda when Australian Defence Minister Christopher Pyne visits Beijing later on Thursday.

Yang had worked in the ministry of foreign affairs in Hainan province, but later shifted to Hong Kong in 1992, before writing a series of politically tinged spy novels. He became Australian in 2000.

Yang's friends first sounded concern when the 53-year-old failed to make a connecting flight from Guangzhou to Shanghai on January 19.

Australian media reported he had been travelling with his wife, Yuan Rui Juan, and 14-year-old stepdaughter. who has since posted cryptic and emotional message on her Weibo page from Beijing.

In Australia there is mounting anger that China failed to quickly notify the authorities of his detention and fears that an already difficult relationship may be further damaged.

"You can't sugarcoat this, this is an Australian citizen, who has been detained in China" said Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten.

"It is very concerning, I can't pretend otherwise" he added, criticising the slow response from the Chinese authorities.

"This is not the way relations between our two countries should be conducted, at all."

Former Australian prime minister and expert on China Kevin Rudd turned to Twitter to insist that Yang is an Australian citizen "just like the rest of us with equal rights and protections".

Under a 2000 consular agreement between the two countries, China had to notify Australia of Yang's detention within three calendar days and allow consular visits, unless the detainee waives that right.

Writers' advocacy group PEN accused China of overt repression: "it's obvious that Yang would not have been seized if it weren't for his previous critical writings". (AFP, AP)