Auditor-General Li Jinhua reported to the Standing Committee of
the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), on June 23 that 1.4
billion yuan (US$170 million) of the 2003 budget had been misused
or wrongfully appropriated by 41 of 55 government offices under
investigation.
The General Administration of Sports was reported to have
appropriated 131 million yuan (US$15.8 million) for the Beijing
Olympic organizing committee since 1999. About 109 million yuan
(US$13.2 million) of the money was used to erect apartment
buildings for employees and the rest was invested into companies,
according to the audit report.
The overseas edition of People's Daily has been flooded
with readers' letters and phone calls inquiring about this issue.
On Tuesday, the paper published the following interview with an
unidentified official.
"We thank the State Auditing Office for its careful work and our
people for their responsible checking, which show their care and
warning," said a source with the administration. "We will endeavor
to take related reforming measures."
Despite the admission of a need for reform, the General
Administration of Sports said that media reports that it embezzled
or misused funds are inconsistent with the result of the audit.
People's Daily: The media have reported that
the administration used the special fund for the Beijing Organizing
Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (
BOCOG). Are those reports true?
General Administration of Sports: They are not
true. BOCOG and the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) have taken up
the matter with the media. The media made corrections on June
25.
Some media don't know the facts and they even reported we
misused and embezzled the funds, which sparked a chain reaction in
the domestic and overseas media. More and more reports that we
misused or even embezzled the funds appeared. In order to prevent a
negative impact on our preparations for and participation in the
Athens Olympic Games and preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games,
we felt it imperative to provide a clear response.
PD: Foreign readers have also asked whether
public donations were embezzled.
GAS: No, this is misunderstanding or rumor. I
will first clarify the difference between public donations and
income from corporate sponsors.
COC's income from corporate sponsors is commercial income earned
from marketing. Public donations do not have any commercial
purpose. COC is not in charge of public donations. The General
Administration of Sports considers public donations very important.
All public donations are under strict administration of China
National Sports Foundation, a subordinate organization of the
administration. Therefore, neither the General Administration of
Sports nor COC embezzled public donations.?
PD: Did the General Administration of Sports
embezzle funds intended for building sports facilities or for
athlete training and competition?
GAS: No, this is impossible. The Ministry of
Finance directly appropriated money to the General Administration
of Sports for building sports facilities and athlete training and
competition. The money, including lottery income, is under strict
administration of various departments of the administration and has
never been embezzled.
The money in COC's account is not appropriated from the
government. Most of it is income from marketing done by COC itself
and market development assistance funds from the International
Olympic Committee (IOC). Some funds in COC's account come from
international organizations, for holding conferences and carrying
out activities. These funds are used according to regulations and
the international organizations' requirements and have never been
embezzled.
PD: Can the General Administration of Sports, a
government department, use funds of the Chinese Olympic Committee,
which is only an association?
GAS: As everyone well knows, China's sports
administration system is unique. The Chinese Olympic Committee is
not an independent entity. There are no full-time employees, not
even any staff. The leadership of the General Administration of
Sports and the Chinese Olympic Committee are the same. The problem
appears because of such a unique administration system. Relevant
system adjustment will be needed in the future.
PD: Why was the fund used to build houses for
employees of General Administration of Sports and why did the
General Administration of Sports subsidize them?
GAS: We did use money that was accumulated by
COC's marketing activities to complement the self-financed housing
construction. It amounted to 109 million yuan (US$13.2 million),
about one-third of the total. The residents are mainly senior
athletes, coaches and sports workers who previously contributed to
China's sports and Olympic games. They also include coaches, sports
researchers and officials of different associations who are winning
honors for the homeland, and employees of both the General
Administration of Sports and COC.
In the past, COC never gave salaries or subsidies to
administration employees, even though they did work for the
committee. Since 2002, some money earned from Olympic marketing has
been used for subsidies. The reason is that the workload increased
after China succeeded in its bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. The
subsidy will be cancelled after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
(China.org.cn July 7, 2004)