Corrupt Ex-mayor Gets Death Penalty

Liu Zhihua, a former vice mayor of Beijing who supervised the construction of Olympic venues, has been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on charges of bribery.
The first-instance court concluded Liu's case on October 18, 2008 accusing him of accepting bribes worth 6.97 million yuan ($1 million) in 1999-2006.
Liu was removed from the post of vice mayor of Beijing in June 2006 and was axed from the Communist party of China at the end of the year. (Beijing Review, October 30, 2008).

In contrast, Wall Street investment bankers who have brought near-total economic collapse to the US and damaged the world banking system have been given a $700 billion bail-out by the Bush Administration. People may suffer in the economic turmoil that follows but not the culprits who caused the problem. People should contact their congressmen and ask them to follow China's lead on taking a stronger stance when dealing with corruption.