Stern Hu (; born 1963 in Tianjin) is an Australian businessman jailed in China after pleading guilty to stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes. Hu was formerly an executive of Rio Tinto mining group in Shanghai, having graduated from Peking University before obtaining Australian citizenship in 1994.Matt O'Sullivan (11 July 2009) "Stern Hu 'thrown to the wolves' ", The Sydney Morning Herald He was released in July 2018 after serving eight years of a ten-year prison sentence."Stern Hu: Australian former Rio Tinto executive released from Chinese jail Businessman served eight years in jail after conviction for corruption and stealing commercial secrets" The Guardian 4 July 2018
Conviction in China On 5 July 2009, Hu and three Chinese colleagues were detained by the Chinese government.Foreign Minister Media Release-Mr Stern Hu , Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, 9 July 2009 On 29 March 2010, Hu was sentenced to ten years' jail after pleading guilty to stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes.John Garnaut & Sanghee Liu (29 March 2010) "Stern sentenced to 10 years by Chinese court ", The Age, Retrieved 29 March 2010
According to China state media, data found stored on Hu's personal laptop allegedly contained confidential business information of several dozen major business partners of Rio Tinto, including storage levels and sales plans deemed much too specific and precise to have been acquired legitimately.Chinese Sina News Zhang Qi & Tong Hao (15 July 2009) "'Bribery is widespread' in Rio case ", China Daily Hu was accused of having obtained such information through bribery and other illegal means for massive corporate and personal benefits.Chinese Sina News 14 July 2009
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a former diplomat to China, refused to intervene on a personal level,Rachel Pannett & Alex Wilson (14 July 2009) "Australia Presses China Diplomat on Worker Held " Wall Street Journal and criticised the media and the opposition party for adding political bias to the issue. Australian authorities were granted access to Stern Hu, and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith subsequently declared that he was in good health.AAP (11 July 2009) "Stern Hu in good health ", The Sydney Morning Herald After the trial, Rio Tinto terminated the employment of Hu and other convicted executives.AAP, 29 March 2010, Rio Tinto fires Hu, other jailed execs , Yahoo!7 News According to Rio Tinto's chief executive, the trial would not adversely affect any business connections.AAP, 29 March 2010, China bond won't be broken: Rio Tinto Yahoo!7 News
See also Rio Tinto espionage case Xue Feng List of Australians imprisoned or executed abroad
References
External links China iron and steel Association Experts discuss China's rise, an Australian ABC Lateline TV program (video)