Chinese authorities want more modest Winter Olympics

Chinese authorities have said the 2022 Winter Olympics must not be tainted by “ostentation, waste or luxury”. The comment comes a week after President Xi Jinping ordered strict budget management to ensure that the Games are as “clean as the snow”. Beijing and the nearby city of Zhangjiakou won the right to host the event last year, beating Kazakhstan’s Almaty. Before the bidding, the country’s deputy sports minister and a Communist party boss, who had attended meetings of the bid committee, were embroiled in a corruption scandal. China’s bid for the Winter Games saw concerns over a number of issues, including pollution, a lack of snow and a poor human rights record.