High-Speed Rail Projects Should Take Warning from Chinese Audits

People's Daily Online reports a recent Chinese National Audit Office audit of construction companies in Jilin, Hunan, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Shaanxi provinces as well as cities of Nanjing, Dalian, Ningbo and Qingdao faked materials or repeatedly applied for funds in 18 construction projects. Misused funds totaled 129.15 million yuan.

Ex-Minister of Railways Liu Zhiujun was reported sacked by ChinaForbiddenNews YouTube on Feb. 14 for embezzlement of 2 billion yuan in the High Speed Shanghai to Beijing Highway project subject to more than 1 trillion yuan in debt and subject to safety and construction problems, according to a YouTube Video by ChinaForbiddenNews on March 13. Reportedly, the money was intended to buy him a seat in the Politburo. A colleague Ding Shumiao, reportedly provided Liu Zhiujun women and received commissions totaling 822 million yuan. Deputy Chief Engineer Zhang Shuguan was removed from office on March 2, according to Xinhua News.

During the crackdown for corruption, the Chinese railways experienced a record 7.3 million passengers on one day, according to People's Online Daily, and over the 40 day Spring Festival, 221 million passengers, according to People's Online Daily.

A MIT study reported in Oct. 7, 2008, in Foreign Policy suggests that regular project audits of construction as the most effective means for reducing corruption. According to the Wall Street Journal, China technology was being considered by California's High Speed Railway.

Executive Officer for California's High Speed Railway Project Roelof Von Ark spent more than 20 years working on Siemens Transportation Systems, a popular manufacturer of ICE high speed trains. More than 600 people or companies have expressed interest in working on the California project. According to Project documents, California will seek Federal Funding from the $2.4 billion allocated for High Speed Rail Projects Across America.

High Speed Railway projects are one of the ways that developed countries are seeking to reduce carbon emissions by reducing their use of fossil fuels by using sustainable and renewable power sources like wind and solar for electric power. The main distinctions between railway systems used for public transportation related to the gauge of rail used and they speed and type of cars used on the track to support the volume of traffic.

The U.S. has five high speed railway projects envisioned, with work in California (San Francisco to San Diego), Texas (San Antonio, Dallas Houston triangle), the Midwest (Chicago Star connecting Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Detroit, Green Bay, St. Louis and Minneapolis), the Florida L (connecting Tampa, Orlando and Miami) and the Eastern Corridor (connecting Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington). All of these areas are subject to high traffic, see Wired.com map.

Take a walk through the Siemens Transportation Factory (German).

Sheri Fresonke Harper writes about China for the Yahoo ! Contributor Network, combining her 30 years of research and analysis of the country with a lifelong fascination.