In this Chinese fable the chicken upsets the fox in his lair

Illustration: Rocco Fazzari Kevin Rudd studied China's most famous political prisoner, Wei Jingsheng, for his university thesis. Today Wei Jingsheng studies Kevin Rudd. The Chinese Government is putting the Australian Government through a trial with the arrest of Stern Hu, Wei said this week through an interpreter. Wei has a bit of experience with the Chinese justice system - he spent 18 years in jail and now lives in exile in the US. Stern Hu, an iron ore negotiator for Rio Tinto, was arrested for allegedly stealing state secrets. So was Wei, an electrician at the Beijing Zoo at the time. Advertisement: Story continues below I was locked up because I offended Deng Xiaoping [China's leader at the time]. But of course they fabricated a charge that I stole state secrets - this is the approach the Chinese Government likes to take with people to put them down. And under the Chinese Communist Party the state can classify anything it likes as a state secret, even the most innocuous information, at any time and on any whim. It's obvious now the Chinese Government is attempting to put down the Australian Government, not Stern Hu. And it's quite evident that it is putting down the Australian Government as a precedent for other governments around the world. Wei, who is visiting Australia, embraces the metaphor in the old Chinese folk saying - kill the chicken to frighten the monkey. Australia is the chicken. Who is the monkey? The first monkey is Europe, targeted after Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France and chair of the European Union at the time, decided to meet the Dalai Lama last year. China reacted with Rosetta Stone Spain Spanish the fury it always employs when heads of government recognise the exiled leader of the Tibetan campaign for autonomy from China. And the biggest monkey is the US. But if China wants to make an example of someone, why choose Australia? Wei lists three reasons: Australia has a prime minister who thinks he knows a lot about China, when actually he doesn't. Because Kevin Rudd has many relationships with China, the Chinese Government is hoping that because of these ties he will not make a strong reaction. Second, historically, Australia is one of the weakest countries in dealing with China. Third, Australia is just a small place. Wei wants Australia to understand that it is engaged in a high-stakes struggle. The chicken and the fox - his animal metaphor for China because it is cunning and invasive - have co-existed peacefully for years, but now the situation has changed. I think the chicken is in shock. It's still deciding whether it wants to put up a fight. If it doesn't fight it will be killed. But it may not realise it has a sharp beak and it can fight back. Wei is wrong on these assertions. Rudd and his senior ministers set out very deliberately to change Australia's policy in dealing with China. The Rudd Government understands very well that it is the target of Chinese anger. And the Government is keenly aware that Australia has serious leverage in the relationship - it knows it has a sharp beak. But Wei's misapprehension is quite understandable. Rudd has never articulated an overall Australian approach. The Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, really only started to speak about the dispute openly this week.

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