Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Banner Left
Banner Right

Australian anti-Chinalco activists evoke Tiananmen in advertisement

Australian anti-Chinalco activists evoke Tiananmen in advertisement

MELBOURNE – Australian opponents of Chinalco’s link-up with mining giant Rio Tinto on Monday used images of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in a television advertisement calling on Canberra to block the deal.

The advert uses footage of Chinese troops moving into Tiananmen and chastises the Australian government over plans to sell the nation’s mineral resources to a country where hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protesters died when Beijing quashed the 1989 pro-democracy protest.
Pointing out that the 20th anniversary of the crackdown falls tomorrow, the advert contrasts Mandarin-speaking Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s attitude to China with the stance taken by his predecessor Bob Hawke when the killings occurred.
‘One Labour prime minister, Bob Hawke, was moved to tears and granted asylum to Chinese students in Australia,’ it says.
‘Another Labour government, Rudd’s, now bears gifts to the Chinese military regime by allowing control of strategic mineral resources in Australia – this is wrong.’
Under the proposed 19,5-billion US dollar deal, Chinalco will double its stake in Rio Tinto from nine to 18 per cent and take two seats on the miner’s board.
The proposal has come under fire in Australia amid increasing sensitivity about China’s quest to secure a firmer hold on natural resources around the globe.
The anti-Chinalco advertisement, which follows one featuring two Australian politicians, was bankrolled by Perth-based millionaire Ian Melrose, who has been involved in a number of human rights issues in recent years.
He said while the images were confrontational, ‘they’re not anywhere near as hard-hitting as the democracy supporters were hit in Tiananmen Square.’
He said selling important assets to Chinese state-owned firms such as Chinalco was potentially disastrous.
‘If something goes wrong, it’s not just a company you’re in dispute with, it’s a whole country,’ he said.
Australia is due to make a decision on whether the deal can proceed by mid-June. Rio Tinto shareholders will also have to give final approval for it to go ahead.
-Nampa-AFP

Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!

Latest News