A deputy sports minister who sat on China’s Olympic Committee was sacked yesterday, following a corruption investigation by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the government said.
The news comes as Beijing enters the final leg of its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, though the bid panel said the scandal over the official, Xiao Tian, will not affect its bid.
Almaty in Kazakhstan is the only other bidding city, with a decision expected to be announced on July 31.
Photo: Reuters
In a short notice on its Web site, the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources said Xiao had been stripped of his position as a deputy head of the General Administration of Sport, the equivalent of a vice minister. It did not elaborate.
Telephone calls to the General Administration of Sport went unanswered.
It has not been possible to reach Xiao for comment and the government has given no other details of the investigation.
Last month, the CCP’s anti-graft watchdog, the Chinese Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said Xiao was being probed for suspected “serious breaches of discipline and the law,” the usual euphemism for corruption.
Amid the ongoing FIFA scanadal, China has also sought to eject corrupt elements from its sports establishment, especially within soccer, which has been hit by match-fixing scandals.
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