There is something about the Rio Tinto case that has been bothering me. Perhaps it is because I cannot quite form an opinion on it – one one hand, I am appalled by the due process of the legal proceedings. Where the accused employees were held without charge for 5 weeks, and without right to consult a lawyer for even longer. On the other hand, from what I have read, this is in accordance with the local Chinese law. So we can’t quite challenge the proper execution of a law, can we?
In one of my previous posts, I talked about gray areas in Chinese business laws. I might have misused the word “gray area”. The better phrase may be the selective enforcement of laws. An example in the US is jaywalking. In NYC, jaywalking is illegal and and you’re subject to a fine. Everybody does it anyways. Imagine you are amony 20 jaywalkers at a junction and a policeman pointed at you and gave you a fine. Just you and nobody else. Tough luck – you did break the law!
It is naive to think that one can do successfully do (big) business in China without some form of bribery or corruption. Or what in the US might be labeled lobbying instead.
What makes me uncomfortable in the RioTinto case is that the employees seem to be caught in the middle. Australia, China and certainly RioTinto all wish to treat this as a case against individuals. It lets all parties save face in the process and allows business to go on as usual. I know some of you will tell me that stealing competitive secrets and bribery is illegal and will be prosecuted in most developed country also. Which is why I am not sure what to think of this. Maybe you can enlighten me here.
p.s. Another reason this makes me feel uneasy is because this is analogous to a tactic often used within the Chinese political system to remove political threats. Once in a while, high level political officials will be prosecuted for corruption and either executed or sent to a zillion years in hard labor.
