Australian Ambassador to China Graham Fletcher has been denied entry to the closed court trial of Australian writer Yang Hengjun which began in Beijing today. “Unfortunately, we’ve just been denied entry into the court,” Fletcher told reporters outside the Beijing Second Intermediate Court on Thursday. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus (novel coronavirus) pandemic was given as the reason Fletcher was denied access, and also because it was a national security case. “This is deeply regrettable, concerning, and unsatisfactory,” he said. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said earlier on Thursday that she had hoped China’s legal process would be  “transparent and open.” However, her department had been unable to get Beijing to provide an explanation or evidence of the espionage charges. “We’re not interfering in China’s legal system,” she said. “The concerns we have raised are legitimate ones but we do expect those basic international standards of justice to be met.” …