A novelist from Australia who is imprisoned in China has outlined his “intolerable torment” in a missive to both his supporters and the country’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, as he approaches six years behind bars.

Chinese-born Yang Hengun was last year handed a suspended death sentence by a Beijing court on espionage charges, something he denies.

In his correspondence, he expressed gratitude towards Albanese, noting that both the individual and the Australian government were making every effort to facilitate his return to Australia for medical treatment as well as to reunite him with his family.

In a statement, Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed that both she and Albanese were “profoundly touched” by Dr Yang’s letter and wished for him to be brought back to Australia so he could reunite with his family.

Dr. Yang, who formerly held a position with China’s Ministry of State Security, authored posts discussing matters related to the Chinese state. However, his writing typically steered clear of directly criticizing the government.

He was living in New York but travelled to Guangzhou in January 2019 with his wife and her child – both Chinese citizens – on a visa run when he was intercepted at the airport.

His case has mostly unfolded behind closed doors since then and in 2024, he was handed the suspended death sentence, which is typically converted to life imprisonment after two years.

At that time, Albanese referred to the sentence as an “outrage.”

However, China asserts that Yang’s case was “strictly dealt with” following legal procedures. It likewise cautioned Australian authorities against intervening in the matter.

Dr Yang had denied the charges but did not appeal the ruling out of concerns that it would delay medical care, his family said. There have been worries about his declining health, after a large cyst on one of his kidneys.

In his latest letter, Dr Yang thanked the country’s leaders as well as the Australian Embassy in China for their support during the “hardest and darkest chapter” of his life.

“All of this solicitude and solace has helped me to bear what has been untold and unbearable suffering,” he wrote.

He mentioned that he still had affection for both China and Australia — the former being the “country where I was born, raised, and grew strong,” and the latter as the “homeland of my beloved children.”

My vision is for a world without wars, bullying, or rudeness. A place where people from various backgrounds, ethnicities, and countries embrace one another as family.

Wong described Yang’s letter as “a message of profound courage, resilience and hope despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances”.

Many individuals from each nation have faced arrests and charges related to espionage and foreign meddling, reflecting the strained relations between the two countries over the past few years.

In 2023, Australian-Chinese entrepreneur Sunny Duong was convicted for attempting to sway a previous minister through monetary contributions.

In the same year, the Australian journalist Cheng Lei was

released following over three years of detainment in China

Regarding allegations of “improperly disclosing national secrets abroad.”