China rushes toward 2008 Games amid scandal

BEIJING — The regular media briefing by Beijing's Olympic organizing committee went off as usual this month with one glaring exception: the official who normally presides wasn't there. He had been detained in a corruption scandal.

In fact, more than a dozen government officials and executives from major property and construction companies have been detained or questioned in the investigation into a now-dismissed vice mayor responsible for Olympic projects, according to executives in several of the companies.

As the two-year countdown to the Aug. 8, 2008, opening of the Games approaches, the scandal and other glitches have cast a pall over China's capital just as it should be boisterously ramping up.

A construction binge — part of a massive Olympics makeover — has exacerbated already severe air pollution and accelerated the razing of historic neighborhoods, provoking an outcry from civic groups and homeowners.

The investigation into Liu Zhihua, the ex-vice mayor who oversaw much of the $40 billion being spent on Olympics projects, has set the business community on edge. With so many executives in the high-profile real estate and construction sectors taken in for questioning, rumors of arrests are flying.

"In the time that it takes to go to the bathroom or take a hot bath, if you don't answer your phone, news of your arrest will spread to the four corners by mobile phone with the speed of 'electricity,' " Pan Shiyi, the president of a prominent developer, Soho China Ltd., groused in his much-read online diary on July 17.

Beijing's Olympic organizing committee, or BOCOG, said its work and the construction of the 31 sporting venues are unimpeded by the investigation.

"Olympic construction is very much under control," said Sun Weide, a spokesman for the organizing committee. Sun said that Beijing and central government auditing offices were closely monitoring Olympics projects "from beginning to end."

In mid-August, Beijing and the port city of Qingdao, where the Olympic sailing regatta will take place, kick off a series of test events to check preparations. International competitions, from diving to wrestling, are flocking to China, helping to create an air of Olympic anticipation.

But the Olympics-driven construction boom and the resulting corruption, pollution and urban development issues are highlighting a gap between the communist government's rhetoric and its policies.