Detained Australian writer Yang Hengjun fears he could die in a Chinese prison from a worsening medical condition he says is not being properly treated.
He has told supporters he is in pain from a large cyst on his kidney. The Australian government is being urged to intervene and secure, through diplomatic means, his release to Australia on medical parole.
“If something happens with my health and I die in here, people outside won’t know the truth. That is frustrating,” Yang said from detention. “If something happens to me, who can speak for me?”
After a recent medical examination following several months of pain he thought was a muscle strain, a doctor advised Yang that he has a 10cm cyst squeezing his kidney.
Friends of Yang, who have been briefed in recent days, said they have not been informed of the type of cyst, or treatment options.
The doctor said no action was required, as long as the cyst did not split or bleed and is not too painful, but Yang may need to have it removed if his condition deteriorates. This is the first time he has been advised of the results of a medical examination during his time in detention.
Yang’s friends have been requesting medical parole for several years due to concerns about his kidney health.
He has been medicated with one pill for uric acid and gout, and two for blood pressure, for years in detention.
Australian embassy officials visited Yang last Thursday and have consistently raised concerns about his health and treatment.
Yang, whose legal name is Yang Jun, was born in Hubei in central China. He was formerly a diplomat for China’s ministry of foreign affairs, and an agent for the secretive ministry of state security, before working in the private sector in Hong Kong and moving to Australia, then to the US, where he was a visiting scholar at Columbia University.
A writer of spy novels, he has also been a blogger, political commentator and agitator for democratic reforms in China for more than a decade.
Yang, who became an Australian citizen in 2002, flew into Guangzhou with his family in January 2019. His wife and child were able to enter China but authorities escorted Yang from the plane into detention.
Yang was arrested in August 2019 and charged with espionage. His trial was held in May 2021 but he has still not received a verdict, with the Beijing high court granting multiple three-month extensions on the deadline for handing down a decision.
He has been detained in a 1.2 metre-wide cell in Beijing with two other prisoners for four years.
Friends say Yang is concerned authorities will deny him medical treatment and let him die in jail.
Yang’s doctoral supervisor, Prof Feng Chongyi, has urged the Australian government to leverage its improved relations with China to “raise three urgent demands”: obtain access to review the full medical examination report and other recent reports; ensure Yang is given Australian-supervised medical treatment outside the detention centre (supervised by an Australian-approved expert); and intervene and secure, through diplomatic means, his release to Australia.
“These are the three things that need to be done to ensure that an Australian citizen is not left to die as a political prisoner in a Beijing detention centre,” Feng said.
A spokesperson for the foreign minister, Penny Wong, said the Australian government had consistently advocated for Yang’s welfare and for him to be reunited with his family.
“Our thoughts are with Dr Yang Jun, and we share the deep concerns of his friends and family about the ongoing delays in his case,” they said.
“His case has been raised at every opportunity with the Chinese government, including by the prime minister and foreign minister. The resumption of bilateral consular consultations with China last week provided another avenue to discuss his welfare.”
The government spokesperson said Australia had consistently advocated for justice and humane medical treatment for Dr Yang.
