Corruption in China is still prevalent.
The interesting point here is that the Government is actively and openly pursuing the issue rather than covering it up.
China railways scandal widens, raising criticismBy ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press Elaine Kurtenbach, Associated Press – Thu Mar 3, 12:36 am ET
SHANGHAI – A widening probe into corruption in China's powerful Railways Ministry is raising questions over the scale and pace of its multibillion-dollar drive to build costly high-speed railways, though it is unlikely to derail the program.
Along with concerns over financing and other issues, at least one proposal for scaling down the showcase program is due to be presented to a top advisory group meeting in Beijing this week during the annual session of China's National People's Congress, a state media report said Wednesday.
Critics of the high-speed railways expansion say ticket costs are too high and the services do not really meet the needs of average travelers in many areas.
"Railway development plans should be more down to earth and take into account what people really need," Wu Youying told the Shanghai Daily. Wu is a member of the advisory group, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress.
While Wu's proposal will likely gain little traction given the resources invested in high-speed rail, the corruption investigation is a blow to the program, which until recently has rivaled China's space efforts in terms of national pride and importance.
The scandal surfaced last month with the dismissal of Railways Minister Liu Zhijun amid allegations of so-far unspecified "severe violations of discipline." Reports in the financial news magazine Caixin Media and other local media say the allegations involve kickbacks, bribes, illegal contracts and sexual liaisons.
Dismissals of top Communist Party officials are rare, since they can damage the party's credibility among a public already jaded by widespread graft. But the current leadership has sought to burnish its image with various cleanup campaigns.
Allegations against Liu have been circulating for several years, but with the leadership nervous over a possible spillover of the unrest in the Middle East, amid online calls for protests in China, the party may have felt now was a good time to act.
"If you punish him, the results can only be positive. This is very well calculated on their part," said Ding Xueliang, a China expert at Hong Kong's University of Science and Technology.
In the latest development, Zhang Shuguang, an engineer in charge of research and development of the country's high-speed railways, was removed, also for alleged but unnamed disciplinary violations, the official Xinhua News Agency announced late Tuesday.
Zhang oversaw innovation of China's high-speed rail technology, according to an earlier Xinhua report that quoted him describing his triumphs in negotiations with foreign companies.
"Our strong point is that Chinese producers are united to form a 'China corps,'" Zhang said.
The same epic account cited Liu, the ousted railways minister, as likening the country's high-speed railways to "dragons in the sky."
The concerns over the railway program are not limited to corruption.
