Oz hits 'harrowing' sentence

A Chinese court gave a suspended death sentence to a China-born Australian democracy blogger yesterday, causing Canberra, which has repeatedly raised his case over the years, to say it was appalled.

Yang Hengjun was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve

"The Australian government is appalled," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. "This is harrowing news for Dr Yang, his family and all who supported him."

Yang, a former Chinese diplomat and state security agent who became a political commentator and writer of spy novels in Australia, was detained on Jan. 19, 2019, when he arrived in Guangzhou from New York with his wife and teenage stepdaughter.