Studying examples of corruption is aimed not at teaching
students how to be corrupt, but at preventing recurrences of such
behavior, said noted anti-corruption expert Neil Stansbury as he
spoke on Wednesday to a group of Chinese officials involved in
multi-billion-dollar Olympic Games projects.
"They are involved in projects with such huge sums of money at
stake, and should not only keep their hands from being greased but
learn how to uncover malpractice," said Stansbury, an expert from
Berlin-based Transparency International.
The Olympic-related officials said that there are
internationally common problems in the construction sector, such as
bribing project owners through agents, committing bribery through
long-term relationships and offering inflated prices in
contracts.
"The examples noted by Neil (Stansbury) can broaden our horizons
in preventing dirty actions in constructing Olympic gyms and
stadiums," said Gu Yueren, deputy supervising director with the
Organizing Committee of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Gu said the committee has already developed detailed plans to
ensure not only the best, but also the cleanest Games ever
staged.
"Every committee official has been regularly trained and alerted
to maintain integrity," said Gu.
The Beijing Municipal?Development and Reform Commission
recently said construction and service projects related to the 2008
Beijing Olympic Games will provide as much as 136 billion yuan
(US$16.4 billion) in business opportunities for domestic and
foreign investors.
A major promotional event will be held April 18 to 19 in Beijing
to attract investment in 376 projects, said Ding Xiangyang, the
commission's director.
The training of officials from Gu's committee was part of two-day
international anti-corruption event for the construction sector,
held at Tsinghua University.
Frank Robertson, vice-president of the US-based Chubb Group of
Insurance Companies, said China needs innovation in its laws to
stop rampant corruption in construction.
About 70 percent of corruption cases are related to construction
projects, which ranks China around the middle of the world's 180
countries, according to Transparency International.
Liao Ran, officer in charge of Asian affairs in the independent
organization to promote market integrity, said that China's
corruption cases differ from those of other regions.
(China Daily April 16, 2004)
