The Australian government has confirmed Australian-Chinese writer Yang Hengjun has been detained in China as Defence Minister Christopher Pyne flies in to Beijing to mend ties following rising tensions over the last 12 months.
The Chinese-Australian dissident and democracy activist became the latest Western citizen to be detained in China.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are seeking to clarify the nature of this detention and to obtain consular access to him as a matter of priority, although there is speculation it may involve matters of security.