Studying examples of corruption is aimed not at teaching students how to be corrupt, but at preventing recurrences of such behavior, said noted anti-corruption expert Neil Stansbury as he spoke on Wednesday to a group of Chinese officials involved in multi-billion-dollar Olympic Games projects.

"They are involved in projects with such huge sums of money at stake, and should not only keep their hands from being greased but learn how to uncover malpractice," said Stansbury, an expert from Berlin-based Transparency International.

The Olympic-related officials said that there are internationally common problems in the construction sector, such as bribing project owners through agents, committing bribery through long-term relationships and offering inflated prices in contracts.

"The examples noted by Neil (Stansbury) can broaden our horizons in preventing dirty actions in constructing Olympic gyms and stadiums," said Gu Yueren, deputy supervising director with the Organizing Committee of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Gu said the committee has already developed detailed plans to ensure not only the best, but also the cleanest Games ever staged.

"Every committee official has been regularly trained and alerted to maintain integrity," said Gu.

The Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission recently said construction and service projects related to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will provide as much as 136 billion yuan (US$16.4 billion) in business opportunities for domestic and foreign investors.

A major promotional event will be held April 18 to 19 in Beijing to attract investment in 376 projects, said Ding Xiangyang, the commission's director.

The training of officials from Gu's committee was part of two-day international anti-corruption event for the construction sector, held at Tsinghua University.

Frank Robertson, vice-president of the US-based Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, said China needs innovation in its laws to stop rampant corruption in construction.

About 70 percent of corruption cases are related to construction projects, which ranks China around the middle of the world's 180 countries, according to Transparency International.

Liao Ran, officer in charge of Asian affairs in the independent organization to promote market integrity, said that China's corruption cases differ from those of other regions.

(China Daily April 16, 2004)