China is buying Australia’s Iron Ore by the ship load and will soon be shipping it back to us in the form of a double cab ute. News has just come through that the first Chinese automotive brand to debut in Australia will be Great Wall Motor or GWM.
....The fact is, Australia does not know and cannot divine what sort of new order might obtain as Chinese economic and military power grows in the face of relative American decline. And complicating that assessment, China is rising in the company of other rising regional powers. A region of this kind might turn out to be as peaceful and as prosperous for Australia as the one we have had since the end of the Vietnam War; a place where all powers have a role and where Australia is open to have whatever relationship it wants with any of them. But then again the region may become more problematic. This is why a defence policy is a must-have contingency against adverse developments. But it has to be woven into a view of the region and that view can only be encapsulated within a foreign policy. Co-operative regionalism must be the hallmark of an Australian foreign policy in these new times. We should never return to a posture of fear or reaction of the kind that prevailed during the Menzies years, nor should we look to position ourselves as a comfortable accessory tucked under someone else's armpit.
Consular officials were not allowed to see him until today.
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says the Prime Minister should demand Chinese authorities either charge Mr Hu or release him immediately.
"That is a fundamental denial of basic human rights. It is not acceptable and the Chinese government has to be told by our Government that it is not acceptable, and it is the Prime Minister's job to do that," he said.
But Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says the Government has to respect China's laws.
"There is a limit to what Australia can do," he said.
"Under Chinese law, which is what we're dealing with, a person can be detained for some time without charge, and only when he is charged is he eligible to get legal representation.
"That is the Chinese system. It differs markedly from our own."
Trade Minister Simon Crean will talk to officials in Shanghai about Mr Hu's case tomorrow.
'State secrets'
Mr Hu, the head of Rio Tinto's Shanghai operations, is accused of receiving commercially sensitive information on iron ore price negotiations.
According to reports in the Chinese media, which quotes sources within the secretive State Security Bureau, Mr Hu and three other Rio Tinto employees received secret data relating to the bottom line of China's iron ore price negotiating team.
This reportedly included the leaking of minutes from secret meetings..... <cont>
... & it's about business ... on the free market (ha!) , Wilso! Governments are not supposed to intervene in these things!
Seriously, though ... who knows what this is actually all about? But something tells me it is not about state secrets & "spying"!
It would help if the Chinese government had been a bit more forthcoming about the actual charges. (Are there actually formal charges yet?) A bit rude to keep someone locked up like this without formal charges. And this fellow is an Australian citizen, so .... the Australian government should be involved.
But they should be involved every time an Australian has problems with a dubious regime. Not just when it's the Liberal party's big business mates.
