Yang Hengjun said the Australian government’s support over the past six years has helped him endure the unbearable suffering he has had at CCP prisons.
Chinese Australian blogger Yang Hengjun wrote a sincere letter to Australian leaders for help in ending a six-year imprisonment at the hands of Beijing.
The academic and democratic writer who emigrated to Australia in 1999 was arrested by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities in 2019 when he returned to China to renew his family’s visa.
The CCP later charged him with spying, which he strongly denied. Yang is being detained in Beijing No. 2 prison.
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Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong will speak at an election night event held in Sydney, Australia on May 3, 2025. Izhar Khan/Getty Images
Yang’s handwritten letter to Prime Minister
In a letter dated January 10, 2025, Yang expressed his gratitude to Australian leaders, diplomats, international organizations and others who have supported him over the past six years.
“Dear Prime Minister Albanese, words are failing me now. Tears blur my vision. I use my quiet voice to thank all those who loved you and me and loved me,” the letter read.
“I have written millions of words about my career, but I can’t find a word that properly expresses my sincere gratitude and feelings.
“I know you and the Australian government are working hard to make your efforts to bring me home for medical care and unity with my family.”
The blogger also said visits from officials at the Australian Embassy over the past six years have marked solicitations and support, helping them endure “immense and unbearable suffering” at CCP prisons.
“I feel all your support by my side so that I can shift the most difficult and dark chapters of my life and immerse myself in the warmth of humanity,” he wrote.
“It helped me understand the value of people’s government words and actions for people, people and people, to ensure that I fully understand the true meaning of being an Australian citizen.”
Security guards peered into the hallway windows inside a detention center in Beijing, China on October 25, 2012. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
Yang said Australia is defined not only by blue skies, beautiful beaches, vast lands and endless seas, but also by a broad vision based on strong faith, common values, facts and virtues.
“We support and protect individual freedoms of thought and speech, clinging to the common sense of humanity and the shared core values of freedom, equality, democracy and the rule of law,” he wrote.
I have no regrets
Expressing his deep love for his child’s homeland and China, in China, he grew up, Yang said he did not regret what he did in the past, including his time as a Chinese official, later as a defender of democracy.
“I have never regretted dedicating the next 20 years of my life to writing 20 million words to Chinese readers around the world,” he writes.
“I will never give up on contributing the humble part of China’s development and serving the interests of the Chinese people.”
Yang also spoke about the world’s dream of “no war, no bullying, no invincibility” and the world where countries can coexist peacefully and help each other develop.
“I have a dream that one day the spirit of law and the sun of justice of justice will permeate every corner of the country,” he said.
“People should be freed from fear, persecution and poverty.”
In this 2017 photo, his family, Yang Hengjun, provides to the left, posing with his Beijing family. Yang Family Photo via AP
Government response
Wong said the Prime Minister and she were deeply moved by Yang’s letter. Yang’s letter conveyed a message of “deep courage, resilience, hope” in extremely difficult situations.
“Dr. Yang writes about his great love for his country, and we want to see him return home in Australia, where he reunited with his family,” she told The Epoch Times.
“We continue to advocate for Dr. Yang’s interests and well-being at all opportunities and at the highest levels, including access to appropriate medical care.
“Our ideas remain with Dr. Yang and his loved ones.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reflected her comments during the state’s visit to Indonesia.
“It is a message of deep courage, resilience and hope despite his difficult circumstances, and we continue to defend Dr. Yang’s interest and happiness at every opportunity,” he told reporters in Jakarta on May 15th.
“I certainly asked our ambassador to tell Dr. Yang very directly about it.”
