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[quote=BOBERT,370732]Under this system, they can intervene legally in any business deal they do not like and imprison anyone they choose. The decision to imprison Hu was a political decision and therefore the decision to release him must occur at the political level. Eventually the Prime Minister and Smith must secure this result. It is extremely discouraging that Smith commented that "we may be in for the long haul". There is always a bureaucratic temptation to sacrifice the individual for the sake of stability in any bilateral relationship. To do so in this case would be to accept China's right to arbitrarily punish any Australian involved in a business deal that China Inc does not like. It would permanently and radically tilt the playing field against Australia in any future business negotiation if the Australian side is always to labour under the fear of arbitrary imprisonment in China. If this is the case, then the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade should issue a travel warning pointing out to Australian businessmen that they face the danger of arbitrary arrest and lengthy detention in China if they, their company or even the Australian government displease the Chinese. Certainly that commentary in the press which has equated Hu's case with Schapelle Corby's is utterly inane, an example of the breathtaking naivety and provincialism of which Australians are capable. The airport police in Bali were pursuing no government agenda and consular access was granted to Corby straight away. Apart from the fact there is nothing in Hu's character to suggest criminal espionage as a sideline, it is inconceivable that after Rio had earned China Inc's fury for rejecting the Chinalco partial takeover bid, and in the middle of the tense iron ore price negotiations, the No2 Rio man in China would choose this time to run a criminal operation courting a lengthy jail term at best. One of the most important lessons to come out of this mess is the absolute shattering of the myth that Chinese government-owned commercial entities are not part of China Inc. In their actions against Hu, the Chinese authorities have explicitly said that commercial matters are matters of national security for China and that commercial information can be regarded as a state secret whenever China likes, and foreign executives can be imprisoned at will. The implications for Chinese conduct of investments in Australia is clear. The Foreign Investment Review Board, perhaps at the direction of the Rudd government, needs to factor this information in to all future decisions about proposed Chinese strategic investments in Australia. [/quote]
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