Australian held in China on espionage charges

An Australian employee of Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest mining company, is being held in China on suspicion of espionage and stealing state secrets, the Australian foreign minister said Wednesday. The man, identified by the Australian government as Stern Hu, has been held along with three Chinese co-workers since Sunday, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said. He said the reason for Hu’s detention “came as a surprise” to the Australian government

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