Yang Hengjun, the OTHER Australian 'forgotten' in Chinese jail: Calls for PM to ... trends now
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The family of an Australian man behind bars in China have written a heartfelt letter to Anthony Albanese ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Prime Minister will head to Beijing on Monday for a three day visit where he'll sit down with the Chinese leader to discuss a number of issues.
Chinese-born Australian Yang Hengjun has been imprisoned on espionage charges since he was arrested in January 2019 at Guangzhou Airport, on his way to visit his sick brother.
Dr Yang faced a closed-door trial in Beijing in May 2021 and has been languishing in a cell since. No verdict has been publicly disclosed.
Dr Yang's sons hopes Mr Albanese will be lobby for their father to be freed and their family will soon be reunited, following the recent release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei.
Australian academic Yang Hengjun (pictured with his wife) remains detained in a Chinese prison on espionage charges
Dr Yang's sons urged the PM to 'act now' and 'achieve a second miracle by saving our father, who has now spent four years and nine months in detention'.
'We request that you do all in your power to save our father's life and return him immediately to family and freedom in Australia,' they wrote.
'We ask that you make clear that it is not possible to stabilise the bilateral relationship with a government that is holding an Australian citizen just a few kilometres south of where you will be hosted.'
'We hope that you, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Ambassador Graham Fletcher can achieve a second miracle by saving our father.'
The plea comes after supporters received an