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29 May, 2012

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games a Model of Corruption Prevention

By Li Yao, China Daily

Beijing, 2012-05-28 – China’s top anti-corruption officials have vowed to share their experience of running “corruption-free” Beijing Olympic Games as a model to others in the country’s battle against official greed.

Huang Shuxian, deputy chief of the Communist Party of China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, spoke highly of China’s experience of holding clean Olympic Games, saying top Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao, have requested that discipline watchdogs learn from this experience to better perform their supervision of big events and large construction projects.

Huang, also head of the supervision committee of the Beijing Olympic Games, was speaking at a seminar in Beijing on Saturday. He said corruption was a main issue shadowing the organizers of large-scale events and projects.

The Beijing Olympic Games handled fundraising, procurements and expenditure with full discretion and prudence, Huang said, citing an audit report on the Games’ finances released by China’s National Audit Office in June 2009.

The anti-corruption experiences were also honored during the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and 2011 Asian Games in Guangzhou, Huang said.

The success of the anti-corruption measures during the Beijing Games lies in the early establishment of a supervision team with clear goals and a proactive work approach, said Cheng Wenhao, professor at the school of public policy and management of Tsinghua University, who joined a research team to advise the Beijing Olympics organizers on how to prevent corruption and maintain public integrity.

An exhibition hall highlighting China’s efforts to fulfill its pledge to host the Olympic Games free of corruption and scandals will be opened at the end of June in the Beijing Olympic Forest Park, close to the National Stadium and National Aquatics Center, Chen said.

The new exhibition is part of a bigger plan to turn the park into a landmark zone with a 246-meter-tall sightseeing tower at the north end of the capital’s central axis, officials said.