Chinese official flees with millions of dollars

A former top official of a city in northeast China has reportedly fled the country with millions of dollars, Chinese media reported on Wednesday.Wang Guoqiang, who was party secretary of Fengcheng city in Liaoning province, left for the United States in April with his wife, the Peoples Daily said.Local officials said Mr Wang, who was being investigated for corruption, had been removed from his post, it said. Several reports cited 200m yuan ($31.5m; £20m) as the amount taken.The local officials did not elaborate on allegations that he had embezzled and transferred the funds to the US, where his family is believed to be.But rumours surrounding the case, the latest in a series of corruption scandals, have been circulating online for some time.According to the citys website, Mayor Ma Yanchuan took over as Fengcheng party secretary earlier this month.Premier Wen Jiabao has repeatedly called corruption the biggest threat to Chinese Communist Party rule. Corruption among officials remains a huge source of anger among Chinas population, it said.While the finances of the top leaders are off limits, many other senior officials have been brought down by scandals, says our correspondent.An opinion piece published in the Global Times called on authorities in the province to reveal more information about the case so as to curb public speculation.Wangs flight is certainly a scandal. It would be good for the officials if such a scandal could be hidden, but thats hardly realistic, it said.Information disclosure in China has moved much further than in the late 1990s. No matter how bad the news is, it will reach the public sooner or later.A report released by Chinas central bank last year said more than $120bn (£74bn) had been stolen by corrupt officials who fled overseas, mainly to the US.Between 16,000 and 18,000 officials and employees of state-owned companies left China with the funds from the mid-1990s up until 2008, the report said.