Australian minister under pressure over China link

magicboy

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iJPRQEbZhpieUWWkw6ZLFPmpVMaQ
Australian minister under pressure over China link
SYDNEY (AFP) — Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon was under pressure to resign Friday after admitting he accepted gifts from a wealthy Chinese businesswoman and failed to declare them.
He told a news conference he "deeply regretted" not following regulations and officially declaring two sponsored trips to China paid for by prominent Chinese-Australian Helen Liu.
"I was wrong. That was very untidy of me. It was without justification and I apologise for it," he said.
Fitzgibbon had initially denied receiving anything other than "small gifts" from Liu, a family friend, after details of his links to the China-born businesswoman were leaked to the media.
But he admitted in a statement issued overnight that "these trips were paid for by Ms Helen Liu either personally or through her associated commercial interests. I failed to disclose those trips."
The minister said Friday he had assumed that the trips in 2002 and 2005 to China -- when he was an opposition member of parliament -- had been declared on a parliamentary register.
The trips were "a cultural exchange" during which he met Chinese political officials, he said.
The leader of the opposition Liberal Party, Malcolm Turnbull, called for Fitzgibbon to be sacked, saying he wanted to know who the minister had seen on his trips to China and what was discussed.
"China has a vested interest in acquiring our natural resources at low prices," Turnbull told reporters. "The question is how much has Mr Fitzgibbon not told us."
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is visiting the United States, earlier expressed disappointment over Fitzgibbon's failure to declare the trips but backed his performance as defence minister.
"I'm disappointed that he did not make those declarations back then," Rudd told reporters. "I expect better of Mr Fitzgibbon in the future."
But, he added: "Mr Fitzgibbon is doing a good job as minister of defence, there's a big reform programme in defence and he's doing a first class job."
The reform programme is believed to be behind the scandal, with disgruntled ministry of defence staff suspected of spying on their boss -- who described them as incompetent -- and leaking details of his relationship with Liu.
The government said Friday that the domestic spy agency had no information to suggest Liu was a security threat.
Liu is reportedly well connected in China, with the Sydney Morning Herald running front-page pictures of her with former premier Li Peng during his visit to Sydney in 2002.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon

China's guided missile destroyer "Shenzhen"

Valery

认领，认领！~

Valery

终于赶来交稿了，翻译在这里
http://bbs.m4.cn/thread-152775-1-1.html
每次选的都不是很难的，可是由于我一心三用，现在才完成任务。真是Sorry Sorry
其中的错误希望指出，谢谢啦！
楼上也是ELF？？

Valery

ELF是什么
wendy_qian 发表于 2009-3-30 20:42

你不是ELF？
你不是SJ的FAN？
555555555