Australian Rio Tinto exec held in China
By Xavier La Canna and Andrea Hayward
NEWS.com.au
July 08, 2009 07:19pm
THE detention of an Australian businessman in China on suspicion of spying and stealing state secrets is a warning about the dangers of dealing with the communist country's state-owned entities, Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce says.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says Stern Hu, believed to be Rio Tinto's general manager of iron ore in China, together with three other executives from the global mining company are being detained by Chinese authorities.
"This afternoon Australian officials were advised that the reason for Mr Hu's detention was that he was being detained on the suspicion of espionage and stealing state secrets," Mr Smith said.
He said consular officials had learned on Sunday of the detention in talks with Chinese officials in China and with the acting Chinese ambassador in Canberra.
The officials in China had been in contact with Mr Hu's wife who lives in Shanghai, Mr Smith said.
Consular officials were seeking access to Mr Hu and were doing everything they could to resolve the issue.
The detention of the Rio Tinto staff comes amid iron ore price negotiations between the miner and China steel mills.
It also comes a month after a state-owned company's bid to take a large stake in Rio Tinto failed - sparking Senator Joyce's warning the detentions should be a "sobering wake-up call".
Senator Joyce linked the detentions to a failed attempt by a Chinese state-owned company, Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), to take a $US19.5 billion ($A24.7 billion) stake in Rio Tinto.
"Chinalco's failure to buy 18 per cent ownership of Rio would appear to have inspired Mr Hu's arrest and that of three other Rio workers," Senator Joyce said.
He said the move showed a slight to a state-owned entity in China would be pursued by the Chinese Government.
"This should be a clear example to Australia, and other countries around the world, of the extent of the relationship between a 100 per cent owned entity in the People's Republic of China and the actions of the Chinese Government," he said.
"The two are one in the same in ownership, in action, in purpose."
The Chinalco deal broke down last month when Rio Tinto abandoned the planned tie-up in favour of a deal with BHP Billiton and a share offering to raise money to help it reduce its company debt.
There has been unconfirmed speculation the arrests could relate to manipulation of the iron ore market.
Reports have also suggested Chinese authorities removed some computers from the mining company's Shanghai's offices after raiding the premises this week.
Rio Tinto and Chinese steel mills have been in tense negotiations over the contract price of iron ore, with Chinese companies seeking a drop in prices of 40-45 per cent.
Negotiations have continued longer than ever before.
According to reports out of China, Rio Tinto's iron ore team has been concerned phones and emails were being bugged, and have avoided meeting in China for more than a month.
The Rio Tinto team feared sensitive information was being sent to the China Iron and Steel Association, which is leading negotiations on iron ore contract prices.
The detention also comes amid unconfirmed reports today that Chinese steel mills had capitulated on iron ore contract prices.
According to the China Business News website the mills agreed to a 33 per cent cut in iron ore prices from suppliers.
Rio Tinto, the world's third largest mining company, earlier could not confirm the reasons the employees were being questioned by Chinese authorities but said they were concerned for their staff.
"We intend to cooperate fully with any investigation the Chinese authorities may wish to undertake and have sought clarification on what has occurred," it said.
"We are concerned about our people's wellbeing and are doing everything we can to help them and support their families."
The company has so far been unable to contact any of the men.
A spokeswoman at BHP Billiton, which has dozens of workers in Shanghai, said its operation in the Chinese city was proceeding normally.
A spokeswoman for Chinalco did not wish to comment on the situation.
Comrade Rudd, is, I am sure, busily taking notes on the tactics of his superiors at head office, in how to gain the advantage in a business transaction between a Communist Government and some arse clown Capitalist business executive stupid enough to believe the lie of Communism and Capatilism working hand in hand for mutual benefit.
The real joke is that Rudd and his Socialist Labor Party believe that they will be part of the Ruling Class, part of the Beijing elites if they succed in the plans to take over Australia
A blog revealing the horrors of Islam,International Socialism,the misery these two evils are inflicting upon the free the world,and those it has already enslaved,along with various articles revealing the attacks from within upon the western Judeo Christian ethic by those we entrusted to preserve it. Videos and Pictures of many varied subjects from around the world, along with some jokes of mine and any funny ones you want to send me.
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Wednesday, July 08, 2009
War on Muslim Terrorism is OVER.... according to Kevin Rudd
Terror terminology in the firing line
Paul Maley
The Australian
July 07, 2009
IT'S official: The war on terror is over.
Nearly eight years after New York's World Trade Centre twin towers fell and US president George W.Bush stood amid the smoking rubble and vowed revenge, the phrase "war on terror" has been officially dropped from the Australian government lexicon.
The dumping of the phrase, criticised as a non-sequitur because terrorism is a tactic, not an entity, is part of a campaign by the Rudd government to change the way we talk about terrorism.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland yesterday launched the national rollout of "project lexicon", a joint study on the language surrounding terrorism.
Mr McClelland said the study, to be conducted with Victoria Police, the Victorian government and the Australian Multicultural Foundation, was part of a broader strategy aimed at countering radicalisation of young Muslim men.
Mr McClelland said several of the words or phrases used to describe terrorism had the inadvertent effect of glorifying violent criminal behaviour. He said rather than framing terrorism as a struggle by describing it as a "war" or "jihad", acts of terror should be described as serious criminal acts usually directed at innocent civilians.
"The general theme (of the research) is anything that suggests a war of cultures or religions," Mr McClelland told The Australian. "So the expression 'war on terrorism' has been identified as one that suggests that if you engage in acts of violence you're a soldier participating in that war."
Mr McClelland said the research into various hot-button terms would be a precursor to a discussion with the Muslim community and the media about how to describe terrorism. The aim would not be to proscribe the use of certain forms of language, Mr McClelland said; rather to make the media aware of the research.
Mr McClelland said Australia lagged behind other parts of the world in its counter-radicalisation activities. With the terror threat increasingly likely to be home-grown - rather than imported by al-Qa'ida or its various surrogates - this was potentially dangerous.
"I think a lot of good work has been done in Australia in terms of developing law enforcement capability, intelligence capability and, indeed, the legal framework," Mr McClelland said.
"But I think the area of countering violent extremism has been neglected."
Mr McClelland said the pugnacious language employed by the Howard government and the Bush administration was counterproductive.
He contrasted the combative approach of Mr Bush and John Howard to Barack Obama's speech in Cairo last month in which he called for dialogue between the Muslim world and the West. "(That) had far more impact in terms of the election of moderates, or a greater number of people prepared to vote for moderates, in both Iran and southern Lebanon," he said.
Rudd and his left wing loon pals can call Islamic Terrorists,their acts of terrorism and the threat's to destroy Western Judeo / Christian civilization any touchy feely name they like, however, calling Muslim Terrorists and their acts of Terrorism what they are NOT will, like the Burka, only hide their identities, but I guess that is what this latest act of treachery is all about.
If Rudd and his cabal of left wing loons believe that "come the revolution" they will be getting a "get out of jail card" from their Muslim pals, in exchange for the assistance rendered to these Anti Christ's they are in for a rude shock,the useful idiots are the first against the wall or to lose their heads, after all, no one trusts a traitor.
Paul Maley
The Australian
July 07, 2009
IT'S official: The war on terror is over.
Nearly eight years after New York's World Trade Centre twin towers fell and US president George W.Bush stood amid the smoking rubble and vowed revenge, the phrase "war on terror" has been officially dropped from the Australian government lexicon.
The dumping of the phrase, criticised as a non-sequitur because terrorism is a tactic, not an entity, is part of a campaign by the Rudd government to change the way we talk about terrorism.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland yesterday launched the national rollout of "project lexicon", a joint study on the language surrounding terrorism.
Mr McClelland said the study, to be conducted with Victoria Police, the Victorian government and the Australian Multicultural Foundation, was part of a broader strategy aimed at countering radicalisation of young Muslim men.
Mr McClelland said several of the words or phrases used to describe terrorism had the inadvertent effect of glorifying violent criminal behaviour. He said rather than framing terrorism as a struggle by describing it as a "war" or "jihad", acts of terror should be described as serious criminal acts usually directed at innocent civilians.
"The general theme (of the research) is anything that suggests a war of cultures or religions," Mr McClelland told The Australian. "So the expression 'war on terrorism' has been identified as one that suggests that if you engage in acts of violence you're a soldier participating in that war."
Mr McClelland said the research into various hot-button terms would be a precursor to a discussion with the Muslim community and the media about how to describe terrorism. The aim would not be to proscribe the use of certain forms of language, Mr McClelland said; rather to make the media aware of the research.
Mr McClelland said Australia lagged behind other parts of the world in its counter-radicalisation activities. With the terror threat increasingly likely to be home-grown - rather than imported by al-Qa'ida or its various surrogates - this was potentially dangerous.
"I think a lot of good work has been done in Australia in terms of developing law enforcement capability, intelligence capability and, indeed, the legal framework," Mr McClelland said.
"But I think the area of countering violent extremism has been neglected."
Mr McClelland said the pugnacious language employed by the Howard government and the Bush administration was counterproductive.
He contrasted the combative approach of Mr Bush and John Howard to Barack Obama's speech in Cairo last month in which he called for dialogue between the Muslim world and the West. "(That) had far more impact in terms of the election of moderates, or a greater number of people prepared to vote for moderates, in both Iran and southern Lebanon," he said.
Rudd and his left wing loon pals can call Islamic Terrorists,their acts of terrorism and the threat's to destroy Western Judeo / Christian civilization any touchy feely name they like, however, calling Muslim Terrorists and their acts of Terrorism what they are NOT will, like the Burka, only hide their identities, but I guess that is what this latest act of treachery is all about.
If Rudd and his cabal of left wing loons believe that "come the revolution" they will be getting a "get out of jail card" from their Muslim pals, in exchange for the assistance rendered to these Anti Christ's they are in for a rude shock,the useful idiots are the first against the wall or to lose their heads, after all, no one trusts a traitor.