China plays hardball with Canberra on Yang sentence

While the details of Yang's spying charges have never been made clear, lawyers say Beijing is sending a clear message to Canberra that while it is prepared to mend relations, that will happen on its own terms. Australia is not going to get everything it wants. Xi Jinping has been playing nice with Australia since the Chinese economy turned sour last year, and he decided he needed to get the United States and its allies back onside to protect Beijing's economic interests. After Beijing freed Cheng, who has since been reunited with her family in Melbourne, and lifted most of…