Beijing fires top Olympic official for ‘corruption’ – Mure Dickie

From the Financial Times:

A Beijing vice-mayor with a central role in the Chinese capital’s preparations for the 2008 Olympics has been fired for alleged corruption.

The surprise dismissal of Liu Zhihua, head of the Beijing city government commission responsible for Olympics-related construction, marked one of the highest-level graft scandals to hit the capital since the toppling of former mayor Chen Xitong in the mid-1990s.

It will also fuel concerns about the extent of possible official corruption amid an estimated $40bn (€32bn) in spending on public works, environmental protection and stadium-building ahead of the 2008 games. [Full text]

See also Xinhua’s brief announcement of Liu’s dismissal.