Chinese Foreign Policy: A Chronology April - June 2009 - Defence ...

scale new heights continuously”.26 May 2009 Canberra - Chinese Ambassador to Australia Zhang Junsai told a conferencethat China is “not trying to take control of Australia's resources industry through Chinalco'sbid for Rio Tinto”. Zhang said that Chinalco might be state owned but it wasn't state run andits primary aim, like most commercial enterprises, was making money.His views were echoed by Rio Tinto chief executive, Sam Walsh, who said people concernedabout China having a greater control or influence on Rio Tinto's operations through the dealwith Chinalco "need to get a grip".26 May 2009 Beijing – According to a China Daily article, the law enacted by Hangzhoumunicipal government in Zhejiang province on 1 May 2009 which requires internet portalsunder its administration to ask for the real identity of their users, is not being enforced. Arecent online survey by qq.com found about 78 per cent of those polled, or more than 35,000people, were not in favour of the law. The major reason given is that the relative freedom onthe internet has helped reveal government corruption: "The Internet has played a key role inthe supervision of government work and in the fight against corruption in recent years."26 May 2009 According to Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao, a thousand demonstratorsprotested opposite Beijing’s Supreme Court's Office for Letters and Visits From the Public.The protest coincided not only with US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’sarrival in Beijing from Shanghai, but also occurred not short of the anniversary of the studentprotests of 4 June 1989. However, it appears to have passed by peacefully:“Nevertheless, most of the petitioners left peacefully around noon and no seriousclashes took place during the interval. It is yet unknown whether this massive protestevent was organized behind the scenes by anyone.”Despite a foreign reporter being arrested among others, the protest appears to have beenunder control at all times:“foreign media rushed there around 10 o'clock after receiving the news. There isinformation on the Internet that says a foreign reporter was taken away forinterrogation but was soon released. It was almost 12 noon when the police drove thepetitioning public from the road and took away a few of them for interrogation.”That the protest was largely peaceful, included people from all over China and appears tohave been coordinated to coincide with Pelosi’s arrival, suggests that the protest may havebeen ‘officially organised’ to rebut Pelosi’s previously strident criticism of China on humanrights’ grounds.26 May 2009 According to The Standard website, the Hong Kong Legislative Council has seta controversial precedent by allowing the politically sensitive phrase "one-party dictatorshipbe ended" to be included in a motion debate on the June 4 crackdown. Jasper Tsang Yoksingin a surprise move on 25 May allowed the inclusion in an amendment to the motion tobe debated on 27 May. Tsang's approval must have surprised League of Social Democrats'"Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung who proposed the amendment, which read in part:"The responsibility for the crackdown be ascertained, political prisoners be released,one-party dictatorship be ended, and democratic elections by universal suffrage beheld for the whole nation."26 May 2009 Beijing - Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CCP Central Committee, metvisiting KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung. According to Xinhua, they agreed to “avoid internalstruggle in foreign affairs”. Hu added that the Chinese mainland expects talks about a cross-87