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Rio Tinto Chinese men betrayed their own nation: Stern Hu case

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Nope I kid you not, are you able to give an examples that highlight he is a staunch US puppet? Many members of the Australian Labor party are pro China (not that its a bad thing but we dont want any elements of the Chinese political system to seep into Australia). Even less than a year ago the Australian defense minister was forced to resign for not disclosing gifts from Chinese business people.

You may be thinking of the PM before Rudd, John Howard. Johnny Howard had his nose so far up Bushes backside it wasnt funny.

Australia's have been unfortunate with theie last 2 PM's. Both complete toss pots. Only good thing Rudd has done was say sorry to the Aboriginals.

i see, and don't worry, china does not export its politics, we are not the US =) kevin rudd is just a pragmatic politician playing his cards.

i just checked rudd on the wikipedia page, seems like he has alot in common with george w. bush actually; his religion and social policies to be exact. only his economic policy is similar to ours.
 
i see, and don't worry, china does not export its politics, we are not the US =) kevin rudd is just a pragmatic politician playing his cards.

i just checked rudd on the wikipedia page, seems like he has alot in common with george w. bush actually; his religion and social policies to be exact. only his economic policy is similar to ours.

Im not worried about China exporting its politics, Im worried about Rudd importing it.
Rudd in common with Bush? What they are both Catholic? Social policies? Bush was a right leaning war monger, Rudd is centre to left leaning public servant.

Why dont you provide some examples or facts to illustrate your point like i have done in my previous posts?
If you dont believe there is a perception among some the Australian public of Rudd's Chinese leaning attitude then maybe you should ask an ozzie or pick up an Austraalian newspaper.
 
Rio Tinto official admits taking bribe: report

K J M Varma

Beijing, Mar 22 (PTI) An official of the Anglo- Australian mining giant Rio Tinto today admitted in a Chinese court that he took nearly USD one million bribe in a case that has sparked a diplomatic row between Beijing and Canberra.

Australian Premier Kevin Rudd warned that the world will be watching China very closely, as Beijing today began the trial of four employees - Australian Stern Hu and three Chinese colleagues - who are facing bribery and commercial espionage charges in the eastern city of Shanghai.

"The world will be watching very closely," Rudd said in Sydney, adding "The Australian government will be monitoring the trial very carefully."

Tom Connor, the Australian consul-general in Shanghai who attended the court session said Hu had "made some admissions" on the bribery matters, BBC reported.

He "did acknowledge the truth of some of those bribery amounts", he said.

fullstory

Can someone clarify whether he TOOK bribes or PAID bribes.
How can he conduct industrial espionage by 'taking' bribes. Who paid him and for what?
This whole thing is very confusing..:undecided:
 
I don't think he is a traitor to his mother land. he hold the Australian citizenship. so his motherland is Australian.

However. he was convicted of business espionage by the law of People's republic of china. He and his colleagues bribe officials of China's State-owned Steel Corp to obtain information on china's negotiation position, which incurred significant loss to China's public properties.

The fact is very clear. His crime won't be tolerated in any country in the world. China built an civil law system since 1978. though its different from your common law system, it's nothing more unique than most countries practicing civil law system. I don't china, as a sovereign country, has the obligation to receive the intervention on its law affairs from Australia.

Rio Tinto official admits taking bribe: Report

BEIJING: An official of the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto today admitted in a Chinese court that he took nearly USD one million bribe in a case that has sparked a diplomatic row between Beijing and Canberra.


Tom Connor, the Australian consul-general in Shanghai who attended the court session said Hu had "made some admissions" on the bribery matters, BBC reported.

He "did acknowledge the truth of some of those bribery amounts", he said.

Connor said Hu was accused of taking bribes of 1 million yuan ($146,000) and $790,000, but he did not give any details.



It was a "pity" that his company lost a chance to forge a strategic partnership with Chinese state-owned aluminium producer Chinalco last year, Xinhua reported.

Rio Tinto official admits taking bribe: Report - China - World - The Times of India

Now this is all confusing. Did he Take Bribe or Give bribe? Who are the takers/givers of this so called bribing for industrial espionage? For bribing to happen, there has to be 2 parties. Where is the other party? Are they being prosecuted too?
Everyone knows corruption is part and parcel of big business dealings in China. Why is there so much focus on this one case?
Is there something else to the story than just bribes??? I feel the underlined sentence above has some relevance to this story.
There is no much information available in the Chinese media on this.
I hope some can clarify all this.
 
Im not worried about China exporting its politics, Im worried about Rudd importing it.
Rudd in common with Bush? What they are both Catholic? Social policies? Bush was a right leaning war monger, Rudd is centre to left leaning public servant.

Why dont you provide some examples or facts to illustrate your point like i have done in my previous posts?
If you dont believe there is a perception among some the Australian public of Rudd's Chinese leaning attitude then maybe you should ask an ozzie or pick up an Austraalian newspaper.

just looked on wikipedia and it said that he was a socially conservative that believed in religion. is that too general?
 
Yeah way too general. That definition would cover probably more that 3 quarters of the worlds population.

Bit strange how you are trying to convince me of your knowledge of Kevin Rudd while admitting you had to look him up on Wiki.
 
Now this is all confusing. Did he Take Bribe or Give bribe? Who are the takers/givers of this so called bribing for industrial espionage? For bribing to happen, there has to be 2 parties. Where is the other party? Are they being prosecuted too?
Everyone knows corruption is part and parcel of big business dealings in China. Why is there so much focus on this one case?
Is there something else to the story than just bribes??? I feel the underlined sentence above has some relevance to this story.
There is no much information available in the Chinese media on this.
I hope some can clarify all this.


This article is nearly a year old but its a good starting point and will add some perspective. It is very confusing and i guess people and the business world can only speculate what happens behind closed court room doors.



Stern Hu – lessons for the rest of us.

The recent news of the detention of a Rio Tinto executive has repercussions for everyone doing business with China.

The facts of this particular case are not clear, not even to the accused himself, so we can’t comment on the rights and wrongs or the potential outcome.

But there are some extremely worrying elements to this case.

* For individuals doing business in China, how do we (I include myself) find the fine line between fulfilling obligations of Guanxi and mianzi without stepping across indistinguishable boundaries of law? Should we offer gifts, or accept them? It’s a common practice in China, and an expectation from many Chinese business executives that they should receive honours in the form of gifts. If I give a gift and receive some favour, do I then face the possibility of jail if I subsequently fail to complete the deal?

* For Rio, how do they now go forward? Put yourself on the board of Rio. If the company is found to have entered into some improprieties or even to have broken the law, how long will it take before they can deal with the Chinese again? And who will do it? Regardless of whether he is guilty or innocent, Stern Hu’s career is now finished. Should he be released, he will no doubt end up in a nice office in Brisbane or Singapore, but will never do business with China again. So the Rio management must tap someone on the shoulder and send them to Shanghai….. to do what? Replacing Stern Hu is a monumental task even without these accusations. Without the accusations being resolved, Rio is hamstrung. Since the presumption of innocence doesn’t apply in China, and since the authorities have said they have compelling evidence against Hu, Rio will find it extremely difficult to do iron ore (and perhaps other) business in China for years or possibly decades to come.

* Consider BHP Billiton and other major corporations. The clear threat to them is that the failure to accede to a negotiated price could lead to their executives landing in jail. Not to mention that right now, they are probably (or should be) scouring their internal practices and people to check for any sign of indiscretion, largesse or activity which could be construed as detrimental to China’s interests.

* Consider the position of the Australian Government. Because this case is outside the norms of the Australian legal system, there is a public call for the government to intervene somehow. “Pick up the phone”, is the cry from many politicans and commentators there. They want the Prime Minister to exercise his special relationship with China, to see to getting this man released. But it has now emerged that President Hu Jin Tao himself was aware of and gave approval to the investigation and subsequent detainment of Mr Hu. So who does the Australian Prime Minister call? And what does he offer in return for getting this man released? And what does he even say to President Hu, given that the Chinese are not revealing any information about the case? Chinese law prevails, but Chinese law is not the only driving force behind this action. Clearly the Chinese are hurt and angry by the aggression of the iron ore suppliers, and have set out on a campaign of revenge and retaliation.

* Consider the implications for China itself. China has insisted that State Owned Corporations are autonomous, but to charge that the obtaining of sensitive commercial information is a State matter and amounts to espionage, is to put the lie to the Chinese claims. With President Hu involved, it means that China is prepared to risk their reputation, strategic positions and their future on this case.

* Consider Hu Jintao’s presence in the case. It has been long known that President Hu is a conservative. His actions over things like the control of the internet and the media have illustrated this, not to mention his purging of more radical elements in his early years. Taking a position in this case reveals his hand in the future direciton of the country in ways which I doubt we will fully understand for many years.

* Consider the situation regarding Mr. Hu’s nationality. Stern Hu was born in China, but forsook his Chinese passport for Australian citizenship about 10 years ago. But here in China, some ratbag elements are calling him a traitor, considering him to be Chinese first, Australian second. The essential difference between China and many other countries is that it is a “civilization-based” nation, where most of the rest of the world are state-based nations. I can become a Canadian, or American, or German, or other nationality by going through due processes and allowing sufficient time. But I can never become Chinese. I may be granted citizenship, but that is not the same as being part of the Han race. Even now, the Chinese Government has an active program running where foreign-based Chinese are being enticed back to the motherland, regardless of their citizenship.

* Consider the position of other major corporations employees of Chinese ethnicity. This is a clear threat to them not to put the interests of their employers above those of China. It matters not their nationality. they remain Chinese, in the eyes of China.

China has long been primarily interested in what is good for China. That is true for all countries, but what makes China different is that it is a quarter of the world’s population, with a growing appetite for resources, food, water and especially energy, and it is ruled by a totalitarian regime with an agenda which maybe only now the world is beginning to see and understand.

I suspect the board rooms and strategic management offices of corporations and governments around the world are watching, very quietly, to see how this case resolves itself.



Stern Hu – lessons for the rest of us. Black China Blog
 
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China sends Rio Tinto's Australian manager to jail

BEIJING: A Chinese court has sentenced an Australian manager of mining giant Rio Tinto along with three Chinese citizens to jail terms ranging between seven and 14 years for bribery and stealing the country’s commercial secrets. The decision came in the face of strong pressures from the Australian government to show leniency towards Stern Hu, the Rio manager who became an Australian national after giving up Chinese citizenship some years back.

Another Chinese court had recently ignored pleas for leniency from the government of United Kingdom while ordering death sentence for a British citizen accused of drug smuggling.

These moves are likely to put western governments under strong pressure to sign extradition treaties with China. Beijing wants such a treaty to bring back Chinese citizens, who have fled to western countries after committing both political and financial crimes in China.

Australia’s foreign minister Stephen Smith reacted immediately saying that the punishment given to Hu for the bribery charge seemed "very harsh". Hu has been sent to jail for 10 years and fined one million yuan ($146,413).

The case hit headlines across the world as it came soon after a Chinese company failed to acquire Rio Tinto even after submitting a high bid. Hu and three others were arrested and accused of stealing State secrets that enabled Rio Tinto handle and frustrate the Chinese bid.

Rio Tinto said last Monday that it had fired Hu and three other employees accused of involvement in bribery while saying they had indulged in "deplorable behavior". The company said it could not comment on the commercial secrets charges because that part of the court case had been held behind closed doors.

All the accused confessed to taking bribes during the court trail. Hu took bribes of 6.46 million yuan while another employee, and Wang Yong took 75.14 million yuan as bribes. Wang got the longest jail sentence of 14 years. The court said 20 Chinese steel companies were forced to pay an additional one billion yuan by way of hiked steel prices because of bribery and price fixing by the four accused.
 
just looked on wikipedia and it said that he was a socially conservative that believed in religion. is that too general?

Stop being childish - you know better sub-zero. Believing in a "proper" religion and believing in gog-magog voodooism and acting it out are two different things!
 
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