SYDNEY—Australia is investigating the whereabouts of a Chinese-Australian, its Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed on Jan. 23 after a local newspaper report raised fears that the dissident and former diplomat, Yang Hengjun, has been detained in China.
According to SMH, Yang had flown to Guangzhou from New York on Jan. 18 despite friends warning him that it would be dangerous to travel to China. He had told one of his friends, Dr. Feng Chongyi, an academic at the University of Technology (UTS) in Sydney, that he didn’t think he would be a target.
But Yang has previously criticized what he described as interference by the Chinese Communist Party in Australia, according to Reuters.
Feng and another friend of Yang were the ones to report him as missing to DFAT. Yang has not been heard from since Jan. 18, including on social media.
“I believe he is in custody of the Ministry of State Security (MSS) in Beijing,” Feng told Reuters.
Feng told SMH that he had spoken to Chinese contacts with connections to the security services who confirmed Feng’s suspicion that Yang had been detained by the MSS. He added that Yang had then been scheduled to fly on to Shanghai but never arrived, and that relatives and close supporters of Yang believe that Yang’s wife and her child were allowed to fly to Shanghai.
According to SMH, it is understood that Yang was trying to bring his wife and young son to Australia under a family reunion visa.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security did not respond immediately to requests for comment when approached by Reuters.
A DFAT spokesperson confirmed the department was investigating but did not mention Yang’s name on Jan. 23.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is seeking information about an Australian citizen who has been reported missing in China. Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment,” a DFAT spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
Canadians Detained in China After Huawei CFO Arrest
Yang’s disappearance comes several weeks after two Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, were detained in China. Chinese authorities claim the two men were detained for posing a risk to China’s national security. Communist China’s state media outlets reported that both men were detained on Dec. 10, 2018.On Dec. 1, 2018, Canadian authorities arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver International Airport at the request of the United States for her involvement in a scheme to use the global banking system to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The detention of Kovrig and Spavor’s was widely seen as retaliation by Beijing for Meng’s arrest.
China expert John Garnaut, also a friend of Yang, told SMH: “Let’s hope he [Yang] reappears today and we can all agree there’s just been a misunderstanding. Nobody wants an Australian Michael Kovrig.”
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