Key Points
- Yang was imprisoned on secret national security charges more than five years ago.
- Senator Wong said the treatment of Yang Hengjuin would harm people-to-people ties with China.
A suspended death sentencewill impact bilateral ties between the two countries, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said as officials maintain his health remains a top priority for the Australian government.
About 200 representations have been made from the prime minister about Yang Hengjun who faces life in a Chinese prison at the end of a two-year suspended death sentence.
The Australian government continues to advocate for imprisoned writer Yang Hengjun. Source: AAP / Zhan min/AP
"It is the case that decisions of this nature will have an impact on the relationship, this decision will inevitably reverberate for Australians who feel deeply about this tragic development," Wong told a parliamentary hearing on Thursday.
Assertions that the decision would harm how the Chinese legal system was perceived and people-to-people ties were "unfortunately true", she added.
The Australian embassy in China continues to advocate for Yang's health and access to medical treatment, with concerns about his deteriorating condition.
"We share the concerns of Dr Yang's family regarding access to appropriate health care and his conditions in detention," Madeleine Casey, Assistant Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs, said.
Embassy officials meet with Yang monthly, the last visit being on 6 February, with a "focus on his health and welfare being a top priority".
A legal appeal remains open to the Australian writer, but international law experts have cast doubt on its prospects of success, with the sentence rarely being overturned.
Trade Minister Don Farrell is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on the sidelines of a World Trade Organisation forum in Abu Dhabi at the end of the month.
It is routine for ministers to raise the plight of detained Australians with Chinese counterparts, and Senator Farrell's meeting is set to be the first face-to-face ministerial engagement since the sentencing.
Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Jan Adams hauled in China's ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, to express Australia's dismay as soon as the decision was announced.
"We will use all channels of communication to advocate for Dr Yang's interests and indeed our broader national interests," she told the hearing on Thursday.
"We have taken a patient, calibrated and deliberated approach to stabilising our ties with China, without changing our strategic national security or foreign policy positions."
'Sanctions are rarely our first choice'
China maintains the case was in accordance with its legal system. Human rights groups have raised concerns about the legal system's transparency, the secretive trial and the harshness of the penalty.
Wong was also pushed on Thursday about the government's response to human rights abuses by China in Tibet, with Greens senator Janet Rice questioning why targeted sanctions had not been used.
Sanctions were not the only diplomatic tool, Senator Wong replied.
"We look at the full range of tools available, they include diplomacy and dialogue, working with other multilateral forums, legislation, public statements and, of course, sanctions," she said.
"Sanctions are not our only choice, and they are rarely our first choice."
The foreign minister had consistently raised Tibet with Chinese counterparts and officials during meetings, Adams added.
