The Empiricist

‘Stop making noise’: China gets tough on Hu.

It didn’t take us long to find out how Kevin Rudd’s new diplomatic strategy would play out. Not very successfully, it appears.
A spokesman for the Chinese government, Qin Gang, explained why businessman Stern hu is guilty of espionage… because he caused monetary losses for Chinese interests. But since he prevented a low-ball takeover of an Australian company by a Chinese-owned company, that means in Australian terms he was merely doing his job.

“The actions of the Rio Tinto staff have caused losses to China’s interests. I believe Stern Hu and Rio Tinto are fully aware of this.”

As for Kevin Rudd’s passive-aggressive approach, he said: “”I’ve noticed that, in Australia recently, some people have been making noise about this case. This is an interference in China’s judicial sovereignty.”

It’s looking like pretty much game over.
The Rudd government miscalculated by letting the situation draw on too long before taking strong action. They thought a behind-the-scenes approach would be better because it would reduce the risks of loss of face for the Chinese and would showcase the government’s ability to work China. But that didn’t work because the situation was already on the front page of newspapers and on TV bulletins, so any backdown would have to be public and face-losing, regardless of whether the deal was made in a backroom or by secret phone conversations. The longer Hu is in custody, the harder it is for China to release him. Therefore, the strategy should always have been to get him released as fast as possible. This is not only the best strategy, it is also the common-sense one, and the humanitarian one.
Sometimes, there’s no trick question. Sometimes, simply sticking to your principles will get the job done.