OLYMPICS-BEIJING/CORRUPTION China says corruption probes not linked to Winter Olympic bids

Record ID: 146043

  • Title: OLYMPICS-BEIJING/CORRUPTION China says corruption probes not linked to Winter Olympic bids
  • Date: 28th July 2015
  • Summary: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (JULY 28, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF KUALA LUMPUR CONVENTION CENTRE PEOPLE WALKING PAST A WINTER OLYMPICS POSTER
  • Embargoed: 12th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malaysia
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAC581K2R6HPM8LBTCJ203AHW
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A corruption investigation into two officials who attended China's Olympic bid meetings is not linked to its Winter Olympics campaign, a committee spokeswoman said on Tuesday (July 28).
    The Chinese Olympic committee is in Kuala Lumpur as the International Olympic committee (IOC) holds an Executive Board meeting to elect a host for the 2022 Winter Games.
    Xiao Tian was stripped of his position as a deputy head of the General Administration of Sport, the equivalent of a vice minister earlier this month.
    Zhou Benshun is being investigated for suspected corruption, the government said last week. He is currently the top official in the northern province of Hebei. The Hebei city of Zhangjiakou is also bidding, along with Beijing, for the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
    "The Chinese government's position is one of zero tolerance on corruption. The Chinese government has been battling strongly against corruption over the last few years, and this (the corruption probe) also fulfills the wish of all Chinese people. More importantly, the sacking of these two people is not linked at all to the Beijing bid, and will not affect our work," Beijing 2022 bid spokeswoman Wang Hui told reporters in Kuala Lumpur in the Malaysian capital.
    "They (the two officials) attended bid committee meetings because we wished to get support from various sectors of the whole country. They didn't do any work in the bid committee, and were not responsible or in charge of any departments. Therefore, they are being investigated for their own problems, and not because they were involved in China's bid. Therefore, it doesn't have anything to do with our bids. I think the government's determination to battle corruption show our confidence and shows that we will have a clean Games," she added.
    Since assuming power in late 2012, President Xi Jinping, who doubles as party and military chief, has pursued a relentless campaign against deep-rooted corruption, vowing to go after powerful "tigers" as well as lowly "flies".
    Beijing, the 2008 Summer Games host Beijing will go head-to-head with the little-known Kazakh city of Almaty for the right to host the 2022 Olympics when the IOC elects the winner at its 128th Session in Malaysia later this week.
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