The need to respect the law of others

Comments on “How do you say Get Up in Mandarin?” 13/07/2009, http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/janetalbrechtsen/index.php/theaustralian/comments/how_do_you_say_get_up_in_mandarin/

Dear Ms Janet Albrechtsen, your piece of article is seriously undermined by your wrongness of some basic facts. First, for example, you say “Stern Hu, the Australian-born Chinese Rio Tinto businessman”, while most reports say he is Chinese-born Australian. Which is correct? Did you spend any effort in seeking, knowing and understanding the basic facts before you venture into your nice article?

Secondly, you compare Mr Stern Hu’s case with that of David Hicks. Can the two cases be any more different in terms of Australian government responses? In the Hu case, the current Rudd government raised this issue to the Chinese authorities within the first week. Both the foreign minister and the prime minister voiced the matter openly in the first few days. In the Hicks case, did the former Howard government raise any concern to the US authorities in the first week, month, or year?

Further, in the Hu case, China is proceeding with investigation by its law, while in the Hicks case, he was detained indefinitely (and almost permanently) without charge.

So what you want people do to the Hu case? Do you want people just protest China against the case with no respecting of Chinese law? Should Mr Stern Hu be above Chinese law and should not be detained even if he did breach Chinese law? In your view, the Chinese are only second class people and Australians can do whatever we want in China with no regard to its law?

If we want others to respect us, we also need to respect them in return. Otherwise, unless we have the power to subject them to our own will, we will not earn their respect. Any unnecessary pressure intended to show Australian’s superiority over the Chinese is likely to backfire. It certainly will not help to the good resolution of the Hu case, if that is what we Australians want to see. We got to be realistic ourselves.

Ms Janet Albrechtsen, you may feel grieved by the very strong condemnation of the previous government’s attitude towards the Hicks case, you certain get a wrong case to vent your anger and grief. That seems a pity for you.