Beijing Olympics Work Questioned in Scandal

(ATR) Newspaper reports indicate that Olympics construction projects could be involved in a corruption scandal involving the Beijing vice mayor who was fired over the weekend.

The Beijing municipal government said it found evidence of "corruption and dissoluteness" in its explanation for the sacking of Liu Zhihua, the vice-mayor who headed the construction team for the 2008 Olympics.

The government and did not mention any link to Olympic projects supervised by Liu, who was in charge of general city construction as well as the 2008 Venues Construction Headquarters in Beijing.

But the Hong Kong-based, pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po Monday said Liu's "corruption problem in this [Olympic construction] field is under investigation".

Taiwan's United Daily News went further, quoting unidentified sources as saying there were "quality problems" at some Olympic construction sites under Liu's control and that some construction work may have to be redone.

The two reports gave no details of the alleged problems in Olympic construction.

IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies tells Around the Rings that the IOC has been in contact with Beijing officials on the unfolding scandal

She says the IOC understands that Olympics construction was "under the remit" of the vice mayor, but that as of noew there is no information about whether Olympics work had been affected.

"This should be clarified by the investigation," she says.

In comments to Around the Rings, a spokesman for the municipal government said Liu's sacking would not influence the construction of Olympic venues.

"Liu Zhihua was dismissed because of corruption," Meng Chunli, vice director of the Beijing municipal information office, said by telephone.

"Liu's problem is individual behavior," Meng said.

"Liu didn't take any position in the Beijing Olympic Committee before," he said. "So his departure from government will definitely not influence the construction work of the Beijing Olympic Games."

Wen Wei Po claimed Liu was first investigated after foreign businessmen complained to the central government that he had taken large bribes for allowing illegal use of land in Beijing's Zhong Guan Science Park.

The newspaper alleged that Liu, 57, had a string of lovers and lived in a luxurious mansion in Beijing's suburbs.

It said formal action against Liu only began last Friday, when he was ordered to appear before a meeting of city leaders.

The fact that the government dealt with his case "so fast, secretively and seriously" showed China's "strong will" to root out corruption, the newspaper said.

The Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress agreed on Sunday to dismiss Liu and said files on his case had been passed to public prosecutors.

Last December, Liu promised that there would be no corruption involved in the Olympic construction. He promised to jump off Beijing's still unfinished China World Tower if any quality, safety or corruption problems were found in the construction of buildings under his control, according to a transcript of his interview with the state-run Beijing

Television.

But Liu is unlikely to get the chance to meet such a spectacular end.

Under Chinese law, he faces a long prison sentence or even the death sentence if he is found guilty of large-scale corruption. Chinese prosecutors do not normally take action against leading officials unless they are already certain they have enough evidence to secure a conviction.

The lucrative construction industry is reputedly one of the most corrupt areas of business in China.

In March, Vice Minister of Public Security Bai Jingfu also said the construction was one the areas in which organized crime was "most prevalent", along with transport, wholesale markets and entertainment venues such as karaoke bars, night clubs and saunas.

The organized criminals operating in the construction and other industries "tend to establish connections with relevant government officials and police officers, who turn a blind eye to whatever they do or even go to them for help whenever they have difficulty getting what they want", state media quoted Bai as saying.

Reported from Beijing by Bill Smith.