Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday he will raise the plight of a detained democracy blogger with Chinese leaders during a state visit to China.
Albanese said he had approved a draft letter to the sons of Yang Hengjun, who has been detained in China since 2019.
바카라We're very sympathetic and understand the concerns that they would have for their father and for this Australian who has been detained now for a long period of time,바카라 Albanese told reporters.
The sons have made public a letter to Albanese, dated October 28, that said there was a 바카라narrow window of opportunity" before Albanese left for China to secure their father's freedom.
바카라We ask that you make it 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,바카라 the brothers added, referring to Beijing.
They said they had just last week received the first letter Yang had been allowed to send from detention. Yang wrote: 바카라I'm sick, I'm weak, I'm dying.바카라
Yang, who once worked for China's Ministry of State Security, is still awaiting a verdict from his closed-door trial on espionage charges in May 2021.
His sons are 24 and 31 years old. Family friend Feng Chongyi said the sons had not been publicly identified because they feared Chinese retaliation for their father's activities.
Feng said Albanese becoming the first Australian prime minister in seven years to visit China created an opportunity for Yang.
바카라It's not the last chance, but it's the best chance,바카라 Feng said. 바카라The visit symbolises the complete normalisation of relations between the two countries.바카라
Albanese's visit that begins on Saturday is a sign that bilateral relations have improved since his centre-left government was elected last year following nine years of conservative rule.
Albanese will meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai during the three-day visit.
Albanese raised the plights of Yang and another detained Australian, journalist Cheng Lei, in his first meeting with Xi on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Indonesia a year ago.
Cheng was deported last month in what many saw as Beijing clearing the way for Albanese's visit.
Yang's sons wrote that said they had been 바카라inspired by the wonderful news" of Cheng's release. They hoped Australian authorities could 바카라achieve a second miracle by saving our father바카라.
Asked about Cheng's case, Albanese told reporters: 바카라Every case is ... different.바카라
