Xiao has been stripped of his position as a deputy head of the General Administration of Sport. (Photo : www.chinasportsbeat.com)
A deputy sports minister has been sacked following a corruption investigation instigated by the Communist Party, the government said on July 16, Thursday. The deputy sports minister, Xiao Tan, was part of China's Olympics committee.
According to the government, the sacking of Xiao will not affect Beijing's bid to host the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics.
Beijing is in the final leg of its bid along with the Kazakh city of Almaty. The final decision will be announced on July 31.
Xiao has been stripped of his position as a deputy head of the General Administration of Sport, according to a short announcement posted on the Ministry of Human Resources' website. No further details were given.
Various calls have been made to the General Administration of Sport for comment, but the office has yet to answer. Efforts were also made to reach Xiao, to no avail.
Xiao's sacking is one of the many results of China's fight against graft and corruption in the Party and the Chinese government. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which is operated by the Communist Party, has announced last month that Xiao was under investigation for suspected "serious breaches of discipline and the law."
China's anti-graft watchdog is also actively sniffing out corrupt elements from its sports establishment, particularly in soccer, where match-fixing scandals are prevalent. Officials proven to be guilty will also be stripped of their positions and power in the government.
Corruption in international sports recently came into focus due to probes conducted by the United States and Switzerland to investigate allegations of corruption in the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The corruption case led to the indictment of fourteen current and former FIFA officials for bribery and money laundering.
