A ‘wake-up call’ on operating in China

Sarah-Jane Tasker and Jennifer Hewett, The Australian, March 31, 2010-

AUSTRALIAN companies are deeply concerned about the impact of the Stern Hu case on normal commercial business practices in China.

Because of the vagueness of the laws, the greatest concern is uncertainty about what constitutes a commercial secret in China and how rigorously — or arbitrarily — Chinese authorities will pursue cases.

Under Chinese law, a China-based lawyer said, a trade secret was something that gave an individual or company an advantage in the market, and had been unfairly obtained.

“That could cover information that is publicly available, because by obtaining that information, if you gain an unfair advantage, then that information in itself could be deemed to be a commercial secret,” he said.

That issue becomes even more complicated because access to market information through methods common in Western countries is extremely controlled in China.

“You cannot just do surveys by yourself and gain information that way,” the lawyer said.

“The movement of information is strictly regulated, so the idea of commercial secrets, state secrets and obtaining survey information are all interlocked, and there are different entities that regulate” each of those things.

Nicolas Groffman, a Beijing-based partner at Mallesons Stephen Jaques, said the perception of doing business in China would have changed for many foreign companies.

“Because they are now more aware of the fact China has a strict criminal justice system, it may make people reconsider their corporate governance and how to structure that, as they didn’t envisage this type of prosecution happening,” Mr Groffman said.

Linda Liu Bearne, an investment consultant whose clients include China International Capital Corporation, the country’s largest investment bank, said the outcome of the Rio Tinto case would have a big impact on how Australian companies did business in China.

It was a “good wake-up call”, she said, and would force some companies to improve their understanding of the rules and regulations in China.

“It will affect the representation companies have in China,” she said. “They will have to be careful how they train their staff.

“Companies will be very careful how they deal with Chinese companies.”

The secrecy surrounding the case and the basis of the convictions of the four Rio employees for stealing commercial secrets meant no company could be confident knowing the rules and how they would be enforced.

Nathan Backhouse, from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Australian businesses would need to seek “clarity from Chinese authorities on the unanswered questions that arise about foreign nationals doing business with state-owned enterprises in China”……. (more details from The Australian)

18 more Australians facing charges of ‘economic crimes’ in China

Malcolm Farr, The Daily Telegraph, Australia, March 31, 2010 -

THE Government is tracking the trials of 18 Australians facing charges of “economic crimes” as it deals with the 10-year sentence imposed on former mining executive Stern Hu.

The clear majority of Australians before the courts in China — 18 of a total of 23 — have been arrested in relation to “fraud and other economic crimes”, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said yesterday.

There are 17 Australians serving sentences in Chinese prisons, according to DFAT. Most were convicted of fraud or corruption.

A further two were on assault charges, one is on a charge for a car accident, one for a visa violation and one is on a drugs charge.

Hu, an Australian citizen, was sentenced to ten years in jail plus two hefty fines for bribery and industrial espionage after a three-day trial, in which the part covering claims of spying was closed to Australian observers.

In related developments, corporate watchdog the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said yesterday it was monitoring developments after the jailing of Hu.

And in London, the Serious Fraud Office said it was reviewing whether to launch an inquiry following comments by the Chinese judge who sentenced Hu and his three Chinese colleagues in Shanghai on Monday……. (more details from The Daily Telegraph)

Western Journalists’ Yahoo E-Mails Hacked in China

By ANDREW JACOBS, The New York Times, March 31, 2010 -

BEIJING — In what appeared to be a coordinated assault, the e-mail accounts of more than a dozen rights advocates, academics and journalists who cover China  have been compromised by unknown intruders. A Chinese human rights organization also said that hackers had disabled its Web site for five days in a row.

The infiltrations, which involved Yahoo e-mail accounts, appeared to be aimed at people who write about China and Taiwan, rendering their accounts inaccessible, according to those who were affected. In the case of this reporter, hackers altered e-mail settings so that all correspondence was surreptitiously forwarded to another e-mail address.

The attacks, most of which began March 25, occurred the same week that Google angered the Chinese government by routing Internet search engine requests in mainland China to Google’s site in Hong Kong. The company said the move had been prompted by its objections to censorship rules and by a spate of attacks on users of Google’s e-mail service, which the company suggested had originated in China.

Those cyberattacks, which began as early as last April, affected dozens of U.S. companies, law firms and individuals, many of them rights advocates critical of the Chinese government.

The victims of the most recent intrusions included a law professor in the United States, a Uighur exile in Sweden, an analyst who writes about China’s security apparatus and several print journalists based in Beijing and Taipei.

“It’s very unsettling,” said Clifford Coonan, a correspondent for The Irish Times and The Independent whose e-mail account was rendered inaccessible last week after Yahoo detected that someone had gained access to it remotely. “You can’t help but wonder why you’ve been targeted.”

Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, an organization that seeks greater autonomy for China’s Xinjiang region, said many of the e-mail messages in one of his two Yahoo accounts appeared to have been read when he logged on in recent weeks. The other account, he said, had been inaccessible for a month.

Mr. Raxit also said that he was unable to reach three Uighur friends in China with whom he previously corresponded frequently.

“I’m 100 percent I’ve been hacked,” he said from Sweden. “I’m angry at the Chinese, but I blame Yahoo for allowing this to happen.”

In an e-mail exchange, Dana Lengkeek, a Yahoo spokeswoman, declined to discuss the incidents, citing company policy. “We are committed to protecting user security and privacy and we take appropriate action in the event of any kind of breach,” she said.

Kathleen McLaughlin, an American freelance journalist in Beijing who is on the board of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China, said the group had confirmed that the e-mail accounts of 10 journalists, including her own account, had been compromised. Like the others, Ms. McLaughlin said she had received a message from Yahoo on March 25 indicating that her account had been disabled because, according to an automated message, “we have detected an issue with your account.” Ms. McLaughlin said she had contacted Yahoo but that she had yet to receive an explanation of what happened. “Someone is clearly targeting journalists,” she said. “It makes me feel very uncomfortable.” …… (more details from The New York Times)

Millions in China Have No Antivirus Software, Survey Shows

By Owen Fletcher, IDG News Service, via PC World, Mar. 31, 2010-

The massive number of Chinese Internet users running no antivirus software increased last year, a survey showed, even though online security risks continued to multiply in the country.

The percentage of Internet users in China with no security software was 4.4 percent last year, up from 3.9 percent the previous year, according to survey results released late Tuesday by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) and China’s National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team (CNCERT).

CNNIC estimates that 384 million people in China used the Internet in the second half of last year. By that calculation, the number of people in the country surfing the Internet with no antivirus software was nearly 17 million, representing a huge pool of PCs that attackers could easily infect and use for malicious ends.

Other results from the survey also showed the size of online security problems in China. For instance, nearly half of Chinese Internet users own virtual property, such as items in an online game or virtual coins for use on a social-networking site, according to the survey. Among those people, 14.6 percent said they had experienced some loss of that property due to theft of login credentials……. (more details from The PC World)

China Web filter rules risky for providers: U.S. Trade Representative

(Reuters) – China’s comprehensive Internet filtering regime for political, social or religious content is complex and opaque — creating precarious conditions for providers, the U.S. Trade Representative’s official said in its annual report to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.

In a report compiled before Google Corp. moved its Chinese search portal to Hong Kong from China this month in a censorship dispute, the USTR said: “changes to Internet filtering can occur without warning or public explanation.”

“Chinese government authorities may issue lists of banned search terms or banned sites weekly, with little justification or means of appeal, putting Internet-enabled services in a precarious position, caught between complying with the law and implementing apparently arbitrary restrictions,” it said.

- Reuters

China drought leaves 24 million short of drinking water

AFP, Mar. 31, 2010-

BEIJING — China said Wednesday that more than 24 million people were short of drinking water because of a crippling drought, the worst to hit the country in a century.

Most of those affected live in the southwest where meteorologists say the situation will not improve until the rainy season, which should kick off after May 20, vice minister of water resources Liu Ning told reporters.

Authorities have set aside 6.3 billion yuan (923 million dollars) to help mitigate the immediate effects of the drought and bring drinking water to the affected population.

Over the long term, the government plans to launch water conservation projects such as the construction of new reservoirs.

Liu insisted food supplies would not be affected by the dry spell, which has spread across Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, the Guangxi region and the mega-city of Chongqing.

“This drought will not have an impact on food production and security in our nation,” Liu told a press conference.

- AFP

21 dead babies dumped in east China river, some in “hospital waste” bags

Jane Macartney, Beijing , The Times, Mar. 31, 2010-

Jining City, Shangdong Province, China

The bodies of 21 babies who apparently died in hospital have been found in a river in eastern China.

Residents made the discovery on Monday while some of them were fishing in the river near a bridge in Shandong province. One man told a local television station: “We noticed that something had been washed up against the bank. At first I though they must be plastic dolls. But when I got closer I saw they were real babies.”

Another resident gestured to a tiny body, wearing only a nappy, lying on the muddy bank. “I couldn’t believe that they were real but they were. And as I walked along I saw more and more.”

At first they saw only eight corpses but they found more when they scoured the river. Several were in plastic bags. By Tuesday morning local authorities had found 21 dead infants.

Local police and health officials said that they had started an investigation and several staff from the Jining hospital had been suspended. Two mortuary workers were reported to have been detained yesterday.

It is not known how many of the babies were girls or boys and what the motive for dumping the bodies was. Eight of the babies had pale green hospital tags looped around their ankles. These identified three as having been admitted to the emergency room of the Jining Medical College Hospital and five as being cared for in the same hospital. The 13 other bodies had no form of identification.

Another villager said: “The ones in the bags are very small but look at that baby. It must be at least three months old. It measures 60cm (24in) and you can see that it even has hair.”

Some of the babies were jumbled together on the bank in yellow plastic bags stamped with the words “hospital waste”. One girl lay on her back with her romper suit torn in half and covered in mud.

A villager bent over one body to show the hospital tag taped to the ankle. He said: “This is a baby boy. His name is given as Man Hongmei and he was born in April 2009.” The tag carried his mother’s name and his weight and size at birth.

Residents complained that the dumping of the bodies risked contaminating their drinking water from the river as well as their duck farms. One middle-aged man said: “Whoever did this has no morals.”

The local authorities collected the bodies yesterday morning, gathering up more from the river and bringing them to the bank in the carrier bags in which they had been thrown away.

A television presenter attacked those responsible. He said: “Where do these babies come from? From which damned hospital? Why do I say hospital? Because they were thrown out as hospital waste.”

In an unusually emotional outburst for Chinese television, he said: “These infants never had a chance to walk on this earth and that is already their tragedy. But shouldn’t you then dispose of them properly instead of just tossing them out? These people have the hearts of dogs. They are hateful and contemptible.”

- The Times

Shen Yun ‘The top of anything I’ve seen’, Says Alberta MLA

CALGARY, Canada— Dr. David Swann, MLA for Calgary-Mountain View and Leader of the Opposition, has seen many different productions. Out of all of them, however, he considers Shen Yun “the top.”

“The top, the top of anything I’ve seen,” said Dr. Swann after watching Shen Yun Performing Arts‘ opening show at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on March 30.

Dr. Swann has always been active within his community and was responsible for initiating the Healthy City Project in Calgary in 1987. He is also actively involved in raising human rights issues locally and internationally.

This was the second time the MLA was attending Shen Yun, and he was “equally impressed” this time.

“All new, very, very creative, and wonderful talent, all of them,” he said.

“I was surprised with every part of it.”

Noting that Shen Yun Performing Arts has two other companies touring the world, Dr. Swann said, “I think the world is ready for this,” and hoped that Shen Yun is well-supported in every country they visit. He added that he will support Shen Yun Performing Arts in whatever form he can. (the Epochtimes)

Thousands executed in China in 2009, Amnesty International says

Amnesty International, Mar. 30, 2010-

Amnesty International on Tuesday challenged the Chinese authorities to reveal how many people they execute and sentence to death, as the organization published its world overview of the death penalty for 2009.

The report, Death Sentences and Executions in 2009, reveals that at least 714 people were executed in 18 countries and at least 2001 people were sentenced to death in 56 countries last year.

This excludes the thousands of executions that were likely to have taken place in China, where information on the death penalty remains a state secret.

In a challenge to China’s lack of transparency, Amnesty International has decided not to publish its own minimum figures for Chinese executions and death sentences in 2009. Estimates based on the publicly available information grossly under represent the actual number the state killed or sentenced to death.

“The death penalty is cruel and degrading, and an affront to human dignity,” said Claudio Cordone, Amnesty International’s Interim Secretary General.

“The Chinese authorities claim that fewer executions are taking place. If this is true, why won’t they tell the world how many people the state put to death?”

Amnesty International’s research shows that countries that still carry out executions are the exception rather than the rule. In addition to China, the worst offending nations were Iran with at least 388 executions, Iraq at least 120, Saudi Arabia at least 69 and the USA with 52.

The past year saw capital punishment applied extensively to send political messages, to silence opponents or to promote political agendas in China, Iran and Sudan, according to Amnesty International’s report……. (more details from Amnesty International)

Speeches in Support of U.S. House Resolution 605 on Falun Gong (3)- by Representative LYNN WOOLSEY

From the The Falun Dafa Information Center -

[The U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 605 on March 16, 2010 (news). The voting was preceded by a 13-minute-long floor debate during which Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the resolution's author and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs spoke, as did Representatives Diane Watson (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), all in support of the declaration. Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), who could not attend the debate in person, submitted statements for the record. Below is the Congressional members' full remarks.]

LYNN WOOLSEY (D-CA)

“First of all, I would like to thank the two women who are here bringing this resolution to the House floor. It’s so very important. I rise today in support of H. Res. 605, a resolution recognizing the continuing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

In 2002, Mr. Speaker, I authored a resolution expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Chinese Government’s oppression of Falun Gong in the United States and in the People’s Republic of China. Sadly, 8 years later, the persecution continues. People are being sent to jail, to work camps and are assaulted for their practice of Falun Gong. China has claimed that the Falun Gong practitioners are “disturbing social order” and have labeled the practice an evil cult.

International media reports have found that over 100 Falun Gong followers have died in the custody of the Chinese Government. All people, even those in China, have the internationally recognized freedoms of association and religion. The Chinese Government must put a stop to this inhumane persecution. I urge my colleagues, stand up for human rights and vote “yes” on this resolution, H. Res. 605.”

- From The Falun Dafa Information Center

Related:
- The complete text of U.S. House resolution 605: calling for an immediate end to the campaign to persecute, intimidate, imprison, and torture Falun Gong practitioners in China
- Speeches in Support of U.S. House Resolution 605 on Falun Gong (1)- by Representative Diane Watson
- Speeches in Support of U.S. House Resolution 605 on Falun Gong (2)- by Representative ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN (video)

Rudd criticises China over Hu case

AAP via Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, Mar. 30, 2010-

By holding part of an Australian businessman’s criminal trial in secret, China has missed an opportunity to prove itself on the world stage, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.

A Shanghai court yesterday sentenced Rio Tinto mining executive Stern Hu to 10 years behind bars for taking bribes and stealing trade secrets.

Hu admitted to the bribery charges but the commercial secrets elements of the trial were heard in secret.

Mr Rudd said that left “serious unanswered questions” about his conviction.

“In holding this part of the trial in secret, China I believe has missed an opportunity to demonstrate to the world at large transparency that would be consistent with its emerging global role,” he told reporters in Melbourne today.

“Australia … has reservations about the manner in which the second charge contained within this particular court case has been handled.”

Mr Rudd said the federal government made strong, frequent and high-level representations to Chinese officials on behalf of Hu and would continue to do so.

He expects the bilateral relationship between China and Australia to sustain the pressure of Hu’s trial and sentencing.

“We’ve had disagreements with our friends in Beijing before, I’m sure we’ll have disagreements again,” Mr Rudd said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop questioned the strength of a consular agreement between the two nations, which should have allowed local officials to attend Hu’s trial in its entirety.

“If China is able to ignore the agreement in these circumstances, are there other circumstances where the consular agreement will not be adhered to?” she asked on ABC Radio.

“This would be an issue of great concern to many companies from Australia and also around the world.”

Ms Bishop accused Mr Rudd of engaging in “megaphone” diplomacy, instead of telephoning Chinese officials to discuss the issue.

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said the government was scared to push China on the matter because it did not want to damage trade relations between Australia and China.

“Beijing sends a certain fear into the hearts of politicians in Canberra,” he said.

“There’s no doubt the pressure for trade overcomes the pressure for democracy, human rights and the proper processes under the law.”

Three of Hu’s Chinese colleagues were also jailed for terms ranging from seven to 14 years. (via Sydney Morning Herald)

China Missed Chance for Open Rio Trial, Rudd Says

By Marion Rae, Bloomberg, via BusinessWeek-

March 30 (Bloomberg) — China “missed an opportunity” to be transparent and give companies more confidence by hearing charges of industrial espionage against four Rio Tinto Group executives in secret, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said.

China had the chance “to demonstrate to the world at large transparency that would be consistent with its emerging global role,” Rudd said in Melbourne today. There are “serious unanswered questions” about the conviction of Stern Hu, the Australian executive who led Rio’s iron ore unit in China.

Hu was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison by a court in Shanghai and colleagues Liu Caikui, Wang Yong and Ge Minqiang given prison terms of between seven and 14 years. They were found guilty of bribery and stealing commercial secrets after China’s anti-graft authorities vowed this year to crack down on corruption.

Australian officials were present when the court heard evidence about bribery charges against the four, who were accused of accepting money in exchange for giving priority access to iron ore to steel mills.

“Australia condemns bribery where ever it occurs,” Rudd said. “Australia also, however, has reservations about the manner in which the second charge, contained within this particular court case has been handled.”

Trade Pacts

The case frayed ties with Australia after Rio rejected a $19.5 billion investment from China last year. Rudd said he expects other pacts with China will survive the Hu ruling.

China is Australia’s largest trading partner, with a two- way relationship worth A$83 billion ($76 billion). Iron ore makes up half, or A$22.1 billion, of Australian exports to China. The country is also Australia’s largest source of overseas students and 15th largest investor.

The Rio trial raises questions about how global companies navigate a country when engaged in commercially sensitive issues such as iron ore price negotiations.

“There are real concerns in the business community now about the trend of China’s policy and whether in the years ahead China will be more or less open for foreign companies,” John Frisbie, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, a trade group in Washington, told Bloomberg Television today.

A clear definition is needed between state secrets and commercial secrets, as confidence “does revolve around transparency,” he said……. (more details from Business Week)

Missing lawyer Gao Zhisheng calls from northern China, but exact whereabouts still a mystery

By Paul Peachey, The Independent,UK, Monday, 29 March 2010 -

One of China’s most prominent human-rights lawyers, who went missing a year ago, resurfaced mysteriously yesterday with a series of cryptic telephone calls from a Buddhist mountain retreat.

Gao Zhisheng, a prominent dissident, said he was “free at present” but refused to say exactly where he was in northern China amid speculation that he was being followed by the authorities. “I just want to be in peace and quiet for a while and be reunited with my family,” Mr Gao, whose wife and children fled to the US just before he went missing, said in one telephone call.

“Most people belong with family,” he added. “I have not been with mine for a long time. This is a mistake and I want to correct this mistake.”

Mr Gao was one of a new breed of civil-liberties lawyers who took on sensitive cases involving underground Christians and the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement before a series of run-ins with the authorities.

He vanished on 4 February last year while out walking in his home town in central China, sparking speculation that he had been “disappeared” by security forces because of his previous work and criticisms of the government over rights abuses.

Amid mounting international concern over his fate, the Foreign Secretary David Miliband raised the issue during a visit to China earlier this month, but his Chinese counterpart provided only vague explanations about where he was. The United States and the European Union had previously called on China to investigate his disappearance.

Mr Gao said that he was living in Wutai Shan, a mountain range famous as a Buddhist retreat. But he declined to answer further questions, saying he was not allowed by law, according to Associated Press. Bans on interviews are often a condition of parole.

Li Heping, a Beijing-based human-rights lawyer and friend of Mr Gao’s, said he had also reached him on his mobile phone and they had spoken briefly. Mr Li believed Mr Gao was being followed by authorities. “I believe he does not have freedom,” he said. “First, when we were speaking, he sounded like he wanted to hang up. He told me that he had friends around him. I’m sure that the people around him are limiting what he can say.

“Secondly, he would not tell me exactly where he is when I suggested visiting him,” Mr Li said. “We are very concerned about his situation.”

Mr Gao was convicted of “inciting subversion” at a one-day trial in 2006 after representing individuals persecuted for their religious beliefs and was placed under house arrest.

State media said he was convicted on the basis of articles published on foreign websites. The following year, he wrote an open letter to the US Congress detailing human-rights abuses in the country, for which he was arrested and tortured, according to rights groups.

In a statement made public just before he disappeared last year, he described severe beatings from Chinese security forces, electric shocks to his genitals, and cigarettes held to his eyes during a 2007 detention. His torturers described his torment as a 12-course meal, according to the document, and accused of him of being a traitor. “This is China. It is the Communist Party’s territory,” he claimed he was told. Mr Gao said he was beaten until his eyes became swollen shut.

The constant police surveillance wore on his wife and children and they fled China a month before he disappeared.

- The Independent

Lost Chinese dissident Gao Zhisheng emerges from the dark

ANDREW JACOBS, Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, March 30, 2010 -

BEIJING: Gao Zhisheng, the Chinese rights activist who has been missing for more than a year, has reappeared near his home town in northern China.

In a brief phone call, Mr Gao said he was no longer in police custody but he could not give any details of his predicament. ”I’m fine now but I’m not in a position to be interviewed,” he said. ”I’ve been sentenced but released.”

Mr Gao, 44, told Reuters he had been released about six months ago and was at Wutai mountain, beloved of Buddhist pilgrims because of its many shrines. He said he wanted ”a quiet life” and to rejoin his family.

But friends and human rights groups said they remained concerned about his situation since he seemed to be under surveillance and unable to speak freely.

Since Mr Gao disappeared into the custody of public security staff in February last year, the Chinese government has provided a series of contradictory and cryptic explanations of his whereabouts.

During a previous detention in 2006, Mr Gao said he was tortured by his captors. A lawyer and critic of the Chinese government, Mr Gao gained notoriety for his defence of the most marginalised citizens – farmers evicted from their land; members of underground Christian churches; and practitioners of Falun Gong, the outlawed spiritual movement.

In addition to his legal work, activists say Mr Gao probably infuriated the authorities by writing protest letters to China’s top leaders about the persecution of Falun Gong adherents and by publicly discussing the torture he says he endured.

A month before he disappeared his wife and two children evaded round-the-clock surveillance of their Beijing apartment and escaped to Thailand. They were granted asylum by the US and now live in New York.

Mr Gao’s wife, Geng He, told Agence France-Presse: ”I am tremendously relieved that my husband is alive. I just want Zhisheng to be with his family again. My children and I need him.”

- The Sydney Morning Herald

Australian company head Sentenced to 10 years, China business and political environment unpredictable

JOHN GARNAUT AND SANGHEE LIU, Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, March 29, 2010 -

Australian Stern Hu has been sentenced to 10 years’ jail by a Chinese court for stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes.

His three Rio Tinto colleagues will face between seven and 14 years for the same charges.

The sentences were at the higher end of expectations and will add to fears that China’s business and political environment is becoming increasingly unpredictable.

The case against Hu has strained relations between Australia and China, with the three-day hearing taking place last week in a closed court and Australian consular officials barred from hearing some evidence.

Australian officials were allowed into the court for today’s verdict, while journalists were able to watch on a video screen in an adjoining room.

Hu, the head of the Anglo-Australian miner’s Shanghai office, and the three Chinese men – Wang Yong, Liu Caikui and Ge Minqiang – had pleaded guilty to taking $US13 million ($A14.33 million), and one admitted to commercial espionage.

The men have been in custody for more than eight months.

The four Rio employees were arrested last July during contentious iron-ore contract talks between top mining companies and the steel industry in China, the world’s largest consumer of the raw material. The talks collapsed.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the world would be watching the trial, which has been widely seen as a test of the rule of law in China and has sparked concerns about doing business in the world’s third-largest economy.

Three decades after China opened up to the world, US and European businesses are now complaining of increasingly onerous rules, preferential treatment for local firms and growing nationalism.

A prosecutor had recommended that Hu be given a lenient sentence after he apologised to the court and to Rio, saying he took more than $US900,000 ($A994,475) to help childhood friends in need, his lawyer Jin Chunqing said.

At the three-day trial of the Rio employees, the court heard evidence that millions of yuan in bribes had been stuffed into bags and boxes for the accused, according to state media.

Hu took money from small private steel companies, which before the global financial crisis were locked out of buying iron ore from Rio because the mining giant prioritised large state-run steel companies, Jin said.

When the global economic crisis hit in September 2008, demand for iron ore plummeted and the smaller players paid bribes “to squeeze into the club and join the buyers,” he said.

Wang strongly objected to the bribery allegations, saying he simply borrowed the money from one of China’s richest men, Du Shuanghua, the National Business Daily said.

Du, the former head of Shandong-based Rizhao Iron & Steel group, has contradicted Wang’s account, saying he paid the Rio employee $US9 million ($A9.94 million) for preferential treatment, the newspaper said.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith chastised China last week for locking the country’s diplomats out of the courtroom during the hearings on the commercial espionage allegations.

China appeared to have broken its own laws by excluding Australia’s consular staff from the hearings, according to New York University professor Jerome Cohen, a leading US expert on Chinese legal issues.

The decision “to exclude the Australian consuls violated existing Chinese law, which since 1995 has explicitly instructed China’s courts to permit foreign consular representation even at non-public trials,” Cohen wrote in an article co-authored with Yu-Jie Chen, a fellow at the US Asia Law Institute.

Hu’s lawyer Jin Chunqing told The Associated Press by telephone that an appeal had not yet been decided.

“We haven’t decided yet if we would appeal to the higher court or what we should do for the next step, as we need to meet and discuss with Stern face to face, and as soon as possible,” Jin said.

- Sydney Morning Herald

Google Says Mobile Service in China Partially Blocked

By Brian Womack, Bloomberg, Via The Business Week, Mar. 29, 2010-

March 29 (Bloomberg) – Google Inc., after shutting its Internet search engine in China last week, said its mobile services in the country are being partially blocked.

The services delivered to wireless phones were operating normally until becoming partly shut down yesterday, Google said on its Web site that tracks service availability in mainland China.

“Service availability fluctuates regularly, and it is too early to tell if this blockage will be persistent,” Google said in an e-mailed statement. “There is no specific indication that the change is related to our recent announcement.”

Google is keeping close tabs on its various Web-delivered services in China after a standoff with authorities led the company to start redirecting users of its Chinese search engine to its Hong Kong site. Google pledged in January to stop censoring results in mainland China after hackers stole data and targeted e-mail accounts of human-rights activists.

Mobile is the first service in China to have a change in status since Google unveiled the feature-tracking site on March 22.

Google’s Web, images and news-search services continue to have “no issues” while video-sharing site YouTube and Blogger remain blocked, according to the feature tracker.

The Mountain View, California-based company said last week it would no longer offer its mobile applications on Android phones in China “until further notice.” Chinese companies can still sell phones that use Android, an operating system backed by Google.

Google fell 80 cents to $561.89 at 2:50 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares had dropped 9.2 percent this year before today.

- The Business Week

Prominent Chinese Lawyer ‘Alive,’ Says Friends of Gao Zhisheng

Radio Free Asia, Mar. 29, 2010-

HONG KONG— A prominent Chinese civil rights lawyer whose whereabouts have been unknown for more than a year is alive, but has yet to regain full personal liberty, a friend and fellow lawyer said.

“They let him out six months ago,” said Beijing-based rights lawyer Li Heping. “They didn’t tell me about it.”

“When I spoke to him on the phone, I got the distinct impression that he wasn’t completely free,” Li said.

He said Gao, once a top defense lawyer lauded by the ruling Communist Party for his work on behalf of the least privileged in Chinese society, had been handed a suspended sentence for inciting subversion at a one-day secret trial in 2006.

“The three-year suspended sentence lasts for five years. That’s to say that if he commits no crime within five years, then he won’t have to serve the three year jail term,” said Li, who said people under suspended sentence are supposed to be granted liberty if no crime had been committed.

“In accordance with Chinese law, he is supposed to have his personal freedom,” said Li after speaking briefly with Gao.

Gao told Li he is currently staying near the sacred Buddhist mountain of Wutaishan, in northern China’s Shanxi province.

“During our three-minute conversation, he said, ‘Hey, why don’t I call you back later when it’s more convenient for me? Right now I have to do something with a few friends.’ Then he hung up,” Li said.

“I’m pretty sure that someone was indicating to him silently that he shouldn’t talk any more.”

Separated from family

Gao’s wife, Geng He, who along with the couple’s two children was granted political asylum in the United States recently, said she too had recently spoken with Gao.

“I am tremendously relieved that my husband is alive,” Geng said in a statement released by U.S-based political prisoners’ group Freedom Now.

“I am so happy that my children were able to speak to him,” Geng said, adding that she hoped her husband would be allowed to go to the United States as well.

Ming Xia, professor of politics at the City University of New York, said China’s ruling Communist Party had good reason to fear Gao.

“Firstly, he spoke out on behalf of victims of the anti-Falun Gong campaign and took on cases in which he defended them,” Xia said. “This is a hugely sensitive matter for the top echelons of China’s leadership, and it worries them very much.”

“The second is that Gao Zhisheng…is a person whose religious convictions are very strong, so he’s got God on his side.”

Xia said that confronted with a such a prominent activist fueled by religious faith, the authorities appeared to be trying to make the lawyer less relevant in contemporary Chinese society.

“If they don’t kill him outright, they will separate him from his family and make him die ideologically, and in terms of his social impact, and make society forget him,” Xia said.

“At the same time he no longer has the power to effect any public actions. That’s probably the basic line of reasoning which they are now in the process of implementing.”

Dangerous profession

Gao’s case has drawn international attention for the unusual length of his disappearance and for his own earlier graphic reports of the torture he said he endured in detention.

Born in poverty, Gao became a member of the Communist Party and was named by the government a decade ago as one of the 10 best lawyers in China.

He drew displeasure from Beijing by taking on cases related to corruption, religious freedom, and how the government has treated the Falun Gong movement—which the government has labeled a dangerous cult.

His law license was taken away, and in 2005 he resigned his Party membership.

Gao has given numerous interviews to foreign media, including graphic accounts of torture he said he suffered during another detention in 2007.

Civil rights lawyers and international rights advocates say the entire Chinese legal profession is under increasing strain, with many law firms losing their licenses—or being threatened that they will have their licenses revoked—should they choose to take on sensitive cases.

- Radio Free Asia

Senator recommends Shen Yun to all Canadians

VANCOUVER, Canada— Sen. Mobina Jaffer, deputy chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, recommends Shen Yun to all Canadians.

“Don’t miss it,” she said. “It’s an art form that we all should enjoy. I have enjoyed this for three years and I’m looking forward to coming with more of my family members next year.”

This year she brought eight family members to see the unique cultural show, held March 27 at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Founded in 2004, Shen Yun has experienced exponential growth, and will tour up to 100 cities during its 2010 World Tour.

This year, New York-based Shen Yun expanded from two to three companies which are currently touring on three continents, each accompanied by a full 40-member orchestra comprised of Western and Eastern instruments.

“It boggles the mind, it’s hard to imagine that this can be repeated [in Vancouver] three times more,” said the senator, adding that she is glad to have been able to see the show in previous years.

“The world needs more of this,” she said.

Each year, Shen Yun presents an entirely new program. Five thousand years of traditional Chinese culture allows for endless artistic interpretation, according to the company’s promotional materials.

“This year is done differently. Now, the women’s dances were just so gracious and the men did such an amazing job,” said Ms. Jaffer.

Her husband came last year and “just loved it,” she said “and so did he,” referring to her grandson who was with her, as well as her children.

Shen Yun has a mission of restoring traditional Chinese culture, nearly lost after the advent of Communist rule which sought to destroy ancient China’s divinely-inspired culture.

Ms. Jaffer thanked Shen Yun for coming to Vancouver. “I think this is a beautiful art form and I congratulate the people who are reviving it, because I think the world would be poor without it,” she said.

“It’s just beautiful—it is such a beautiful show. I wish more people could see it.”

Ms. Jaffer’s record of achievement is extensive. Her appointment to the Senate in 2001 represented many changes on Parliament Hill. She became the first Muslim to sit in the Canadian Senate, is the first African-born senator, and the first senator of South-Asian descent……. (more details from The Epochtimes)

Shen Yun Contains All of the Culture, Says Chair of Music Institute in Taiwan

CHAIYI, Taiwan— Jun-Hsien Chang, director of the Department of Music and chair of the Graduate Institute of Music in Chaiyi University, attended the performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company in Chaiyi on the afternoon of March 27.

Mr. Chang believes that New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts is not simply some artistic show, but the content included all of the culture, classical Chinese dance, music and art; a combination of an integrated whole.

He happily shared his feelings after seeing the show. He said that the combination of music and the traditional Chinese culture touched him most. The composers’ clever arrangement and combination of the Chinese and Western instruments was particularly special for him, evoking deep feelings.

“The music I’m familiar with is mostly classical music.It’s stunning to see that Shen Yun Performing Arts combines dancing, live orchestra, and backdrop-such diversity of changes.”

In addition, Mr. Chang admired the dynamic backdrop scenes. “The design of the backdrop is quite fabulous. The backdrops match the music. The clever changes with music and dances take people into the scene seamlessly. It’s very great.” Mr. Chang said that the backdrop was very advanced technology and the producers had put a lot of effort into it. “It is worthy of learning,” he said.

For the performance of the Shen Yun Orchestra, Mr. Chang thinks that Shen Yun Orchestra was high quality. “It’s excellent. The pieces written by the composers are very good. In the aspect of combination of the Chinese and Western instruments, it’s rich of imagination. The music contains a lot of the features and material of our Chinese music. It’s quite outstanding. Both the performance and the composing are quite marvelous.”

Of the dancing, Mr. Chang said, “Although I’m a layman, I can see that they have a very good foundation. The dancers are confident when performing and the dancing movements are very beautiful. Overall, I think it’s an artistic show.”

In conclusion, Mr Chang said,“Through personally being at the scene of the show, I experienced the feeling that Chinese culture can get inside your heart and directly feel that it can cultivate your temperament as well.” ( By the Epochtimes)

“What I had seen tonight surpassed everything I have heard”, says Austria trading company president after Shen Yun show

BREGENZ, Austria— Manuel Reiter, president of Bo’s Farm, a hemp products trading company from Hamburg, and his wife Ms. Sabrina Hartmann bought tickets to the Shen Yun Performing Arts show in the Bregenzer Festspielhaus (Festival House) on recommendation of a business friend.

“A business friend told us that the show was not an everyday extravaganza, but something that is very unique. Every time we saw him he told us more about the show. We wanted to enjoy something special after my wife delivered our baby and he told us that he had found the extraordinary for us.”

They were looking forward to seeing the show by the New York-based Shen Yun Touring Company artists, which promised stories of old and modern China and many stories handed down through folklore.

They were delighted that the audience honored the performers with resounding applause throughout the show, standing ovations and three curtain calls just before the last curtain fell for the evening.

“The show was, just as we expected, outstanding. I had heard a lot about the show and have to admit that after seeing this show, that one can’t truly do justice to the show unless one sees it personally. It was phenomenal,” said Mr. Reiter.

He also had been told that throughout the show one hears beautiful music from the Shen Yun Touring Company Orchestra, which includes musicians that play on eastern and western instruments, pleasing to the ears of all hearing the music.

“I expected dazzling colors, much fun, beautiful costumes and great music that was different than I heard before. My expectation was very high. And, I can only say, what I had seen tonight surpassed everything I have heard.”

Ms. Hartmann couldn’t agree more, “I was fascinated by the colors, the instruments and the music. I was completely mesmerized. It was so different from what we usually see. It truly was very interesting and I loved the entire show.”

The backdrop, which showed pictures of China during all of the performances, and also displayed the translation to the songs was highly appreciated, as it gave the feeling of being in China.

“The choreography and the backdrop pictures in conjunction with the costumes was perfect,” she added after a short thought……. (more details from The Epochtimes)

Canada Airline Director’s Family Wishes Shen Yun Would Never End

VANCOUVER, Canada— The Queen Elizabeth Theatre saw Shen Yun Performing Arts grace the stage on Friday, March 26 for the second performance in Vancouver.

Guy Champoux, Director, Canada, for Air Tahiti, came with his wife and two children to see Shen Yun. He said his daughter wanted it to go on forever.

“It’s a wonderful show. It’s a wonderful performance. It’s something that everyone should come and look at … Really, we all enjoyed it, and the comment of my little girl was ‘too short’. She wanted it to be longer, she wanted to stay and enjoy it more.”

There were so many things that Mr. Champoux appreciated in the performance. “All of the performers are very unique and the ballet is excellent. The soprano and the tenor have really wonderful voices.

“It’s a combination of all the different arts—from ballet to opera to the colors and the screen behind that brings something unique and authentic to the show.

“It’s wonderful, I mean all the dance and cultural aspects of the show are very, very unique, and we really all enjoyed it.”…… (more details from The Epochtimes)

Shen Yun “musicians are out of this world”, says Vancouver musician

VANCOUVER, Canada— Stewart McKenzie attended an evening performance of Shen Yun at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Friday, March 26. A blues and jazz musician, Mr. McKenzie was greatly enjoying his first introduction to classical Chinese dance and said that he felt he had a good understanding of the show.

“I think it’s spectacular,” he said. “The dancers are fantastic, the costumes are beautiful and the musicians are out of this world. Just fabulous—it’s very moving.”

He was quite excited about finding Shen Yun. Mr. McKenzie noted that as a musician, himself, he could truly appreciate the skill of Shen Yun’s musicians. The live orchestra music of Shen Yun, with arrangements blending both Eastern and Western instruments, presented a completely different style than what he was used to. “But if it’s good music I like it, and these people are fantastic,” he said.

As for the score, he said, “It’s exciting, it reaches up, it reaches down; it builds, it subsides—it’s very dramatic, and it reflects entirely the dancers. The coordination between the dancers and the music is very special.”

When asked to elaborate on how this artistic interaction was unique for him, Mr. McKenzie reflected for a moment and said earnestly, “I’ve never heard better.”…… (more details from The Epochtimes)

‘My admiration is endless’, Says Vancouver Investment Adviser After Shen Yun Show

VANCOUVER— A couple attending Shen Yun Performing Arts in Vancouver at Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Friday were struck by the spirituality shown in the performances.

“In Canada we see Chinese people working very hard, and to see that they have the time to be spiritual as well, is just very, very nice, very pleasurable to see,” says Andrew Muir, an investment adviser of 27 years with Bolder Investment Partners.

Vancouver boasts a significant Chinese population, and Chinese businesses and communities are located throughout the lower mainland. “My admiration is endless for [the Chinese people]” he states after seeing the show.

Mr. Muir’s wife, Kate Muir, is a student of theology. She said, “It’s very nice. I love the colors, I like what’s coming through the Chinese culture and as well the Chinese spirituality.”

“I liked as well the tiger and the tiger fights,[Wu Song Battles the Tiger] and how the heaven opens up and actually brings up the spirit of the woman who died—I liked that very much [Splitting the Mountain]”. …… (more details from The Epochtimes)