Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to advocate for detained Australian citizen Yang Hengjun ahead of his second official visit to China.

The promise comes ahead of the Labor leader’s week-long trip to Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu on July 12, with the goal of strengthening trade relations and fostering cooperation in the digital economy and green energy.

Yang Jun, better known by his pen name “Yang Hengjun,” is a pro-democracy writer who immigrated to Australia in 1999. He was arrested by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2019 during a rare trip back to China and was indicted by the CCP authorities on espionage charges, which he strongly denied.

In February 2024, Beijing sentenced Yang to death with a two-year reprieve—the sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment if Yang is deemed not to have committed any “serious crimes” during the period.

Meanwhile, there have been increasing concerns over Yang’s health, as he revealed to supporters earlier that he was tortured at a secret location and forced to confess. Supporters expressed fears that Yang may die in prison due to a growing kidney cyst without proper medical treatment

“As the prime minister has said, we will continue to advocate for Dr. Yang’s interests and wellbeing at every opportunity,” a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office told The Epoch Times on July 9.

Soft Approach Criticised

While the Albanese government has raised Yang’s case multiple times with Chinese authorities—with Foreign Minister Penny Wong calling for his release on the anniversary of the death sentence in February—it has faced criticism for being too soft in its approach.

Feng Chongyi, an associate professor in China Studies at the University of Technology who supervised Yang during his PhD at the university, suggested that the Australian government could use trade as leverage, such as through reciprocal tariffs and by refusing to export resources like coal, iron ore, or rare earths.

“They took the soft approach to [gain] goodwill with the Chinese government and in return they expect Chinese authorities to do something good for Yang Hengjun or release Yan Hengjun,” he told NewsWire.

“It’s been more than six years and the soft approach has not worked. The Australian government has leverage on trade … but if Australia is serious about human rights, or want to make the life of an Australian citizen as a priority, they could opt for a reciprocal approach.”

No Clarity on Falun Gong Issue

Albanese is also being urged to raise the human rights issue of Falun Gong practitioners in China, many of whom are family members of Australian citizens, during his upcoming visit.

Falun Gong, a peaceful meditation practice rooted in Buddhist traditions, was illegally banned in China in 1999. Millions of practitioners have since faced arbitrary detention, torture, death, and even forced organ harvesting.

Chen Xiao, an Australian citizen living in Sydney, is pleading for the prime minister’s help to rescue her mother, Zezhen Tan, who has been detained in China since 2020 and was subjected to forced labour and medical testing while in detention.

“I am deeply worried about my mum’s safety. For years, our family and friends have had no contact with her and don’t know whether she is still alive. The uncertainty is taking a devastating toll on our family,” she said in a media release.

Lucy Zhao, president of the Falun Dafa Association of Australia, noted that the U.S. Congress recently passed both the Falun Gong Protection Act (H.R. 1540) and the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act (H.R. 1503), calling on the Australian government to take similar steps to defend basic human rights.

“These are Australian families desperately trying to reunite with their loved ones. Falun Gong practitioners are being jailed, tortured, and killed for their beliefs—this should not be ignored in the name of trade,” she said.

Zhao also urged Albanese to follow the lead of G7 countries in addressing the CCP’s transnational repression.

The G7 leaders released a joint statement on June 17, pledging to cooperate in countering transnational repression, which they described as “an aggressive form of foreign interference” that “often impacts dissidents, journalists, human rights defenders, religious minorities, and those identified as part of diaspora communities.”

“The CCP is the world’s biggest perpetrator of transnational repression. Here in Australia, Falun Gong communities are direct targets of that repression,” Zhao said.

The spokesperson for the prime minister’s office did not comment on The Epoch Times’ enquiry about Falun Gong practitioners.

Alfred Bui contributed to this report.