Stern Hu admits taking bribes

An Australian diplomat in Shanghai has confirmed Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu admitted to accepting bribes as he faced a Shanghai court.

A report on the Bloomberg wire service citing one of the defence lawyers says Hu and one of his co-accused, Liu Caikui, have pleaded guilty to accepting bribes but will contest the amounts they received.

Consul General Tom Connor, who was observing today's trial, says this is at least partly true.

The former head of Rio Tinto's Shanghai-based iron ore negotiating team is said to have received around $1 million in bribes.

In court today his colleague Ge Mingqiang was accused of receiving a similar amount and Caikui about half as much.

But the fourth executive charged, Wang Yong, is said to have accepted more than $10 million in bribes.

As well as accepting bribes, the four are facing charges of offering inducements to Chinese steel companies in order to obtain secret commercial information.

That portion of the trial, which began today, will be heard in secret despite the requests of the Australian Government for greater access.

The Government had requested that diplomats be allowed to watch all of the hearing and that reporters be permitted to observe even a small part of it.

All requests were denied by Chinese officials.

The ABC also applied for permission to report on the case, but was refused.

The High Court also denied a request to film the empty court room.Trying conditions

A report in the Sydney Morning Herald has outlined the conditions in which the four executives are being held.

It is believed the only way Hu's wife has been able to communicate with him is by writing letters which an Australian diplomat then takes to him in prison and holds up against the glass in the visiting room.

Hu can read his wife's letters and then dictate a reply.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, meanwhile, has repeated his call for China to ensure a fair trial.

"China has a different legal system to Australia. China has a different legal system to the rest of the world," he said.

"The world will be watching very closely how this trial is handled."Moving on

Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese is in Beijing to assure Chinese business leaders the company wants to move on from the controversy.

Mr Albanese has addressed a forum of international business leaders and senior Chinese government figures at the exclusive Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

"Our commercial ties go back 50 years and [for] most of that time we've enjoyed a strong relationship with China," he said.

"Only in the last year did we come across some difficulties, which we are working hard to resolve.

"Last year we did see four of our employees detained in Shanghai," he continued.

"This issue is obviously of great importance to us, as it would be for any company operating in China.

"I can only say that we respectfully await the outcome of the Chinese legal process."

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Mon 22nd March 2010 - 09:53pm