According to Song Yijia, director of the Shanghai Audit Bureau, over 8 billion yuan (US$1 billion) still goes unaccounted for at various levels of local government.

The figure was released in the 2006 Annual Audit Report of Shanghai. The unclear money stretches to 17 municipal departments and 80 sub-units totaling 2.975 billion yuan, taking up 6.17 percent of the total audited amount.

About 20 governmental projects have sucked up 1.946 billion yuan and 13 city-owned enterprises and 128 sub-companies accounted for the remaining 3.106 billion yuan.

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese. (

http://jjckb.xinhuanet.com/gnyw/2007-08/27/content_63628.htm)

(China.org.cn August 27, 2007)