Canberra pressures China over Hu case

Canberra has told Beijing it must promptly deal with the case of Australian Stern
Hu, as pressure mounts for ministerial intervention on behalf of the Rio Tinto
executive who's accused of spying.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade again called acting Chinese ambassador
Zuozhang Liu in on Monday, pressing for further detail about the circumstances of Mr
Hu's detention.
Mr Hu is accused of espionage and stealing state secrets.
"(The department reiterated) Australia's view that (Mr Hu's) case should be handled
expeditiously," Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in a statement.
"This is the third time that DFAT has spoken to the acting ambassador since last
Monday.
"Australian officials will make the same points in Beijing."
To date, Beijing has largely ignored Australia's demands and the opposition is
ramping up calls for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd or Mr Smith to become personally
involved in the case.
So far the prime minister has kept the issue at arms-length but he has said it would
be raised at a political level when appropriate.
Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner told reporters the government was taking a cautious
and considered approach.
"The government's taking an appropriate stand in dealing with the problem of Stern
Hu and making sure that all avenues are pursued in an appropriate way," he said.
"We don't wish to play these moves out in public and it's ultimately a decision for
the government as to what point and whether the prime minister speaks directly to
his counterpart.
"But the government is taking this issue on its merits in order to ensure that it
maximises the prospects of a good outcome for the person concerned."
Mr Hu was detained on July 5 and had to wait nearly a week before being allowed to
see consular officials on Friday.
He will now have to wait another month before he is allowed to see Australian
diplomats again.
The pressure on Mr Rudd, whose relationship with China has been a key feature of his
prime ministership, is likely to grow following reports from Beijing that Chinese
President Hu Jintao personally approved the probe that led to the detention of Mr
Hu.
Opposition foreign spokesman Julie Bishop told reporters the government had to stop
"pussy-footing" around and raise the matter directly with Beijing.
"If reports ... are accurate and the president of China was involved in Mr Hu's
arrest and detention then this is clearly a matter that must be raised directly with
the president of China," she told reporters.
"The longer the government procrastinates the longer Mr Hu is in detention without
access to his family, his employer or any legal representation."
But Wing Thye Woo, from the Brookings Institution in Washington, told Sky News that
for the moment Australia shouldn't take the lack of communication from Beijing as a
snub.
"(In) the last few cases of Americans who were detained it was quite a while before
consular officials could get in touch," he said.
Professor Woo believes China too has a lot to lose if the issue isn't handled
correctly.
"If the final charge is spying on the state that will certainly open a whole new
dimension, which would cause China's image to be damaged greatly and would certainly
reduce foreign firms' investment in China," he said.
He says Beijing needs to clarify the workings of its state-owned enterprises if
foreign investment isn't to suffer.
"The government has to come out and state very clearly that the handling of state
enterprises is left to the market rather than treating it as a threat to the state,"
Prof Woo said.
"I think the rest of world would want China to clarify its relationship with
state-owned companies."
Fortescue Metals chief Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest said he didn't believe China would
have taken lightly the matter of detaining the Rio Tinto staff.
"This must have been enormously difficult for China to have taken this action, it
wouldn't have been taken lightly," Mr Forrest told reporters.
Fortescue exports all its iron ore to China and its major shareholder is state-owned
Hunan Valin Iron & Steel.
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said he would use an official visit to China
next week to raise the issue with officials in Shanghai.