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China issues regulation punishing statistical fouls

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-29 16:24

China has issued a regulation to punish officials who forge or cover up data in statistical work.

The regulation, jointly published by the Ministry of Supervision, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and National Bureau of Statistics on the government website on Tuesday, will take effect on May 1.

It is the first such regulation in China, according to a media statement.

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"Statistics reflect the trend of the country's social and economic development but there are acts violating law and discipline in statistical work in some regional governments and departments," the statement said.

These acts affected the quality of data, undermined information backup for the country's macro-control and damaged the image of the Communist Party and the government, it said.

The regulation with 15 stipulations sets out punishment measures, especially for officials who fake statistics or publish data against the country's rules and procedures.

Serious penalties including dismissal, demotion, or unspecified "criminal punishment", would be imposed on people who unlawfully change statistics or ask others to do so and those who take revenge on people who refuse to fabricate data or blow the whistle on illegal acts.

People who leak data concerning State secrets, personal or family information and business secrets, as well as delaying reporting of statistics, would also face similar penalties.

It asks local supervisory bodies and the government to fully perform roles in cracking down on statistical corruption so as to safeguard the authenticity of statistical work.

Statistical corruption has been found in China for years to exaggerate local economic growth, which is often related to officials' promotion.

Earlier this month, Fujian province said last year it handled 754 cases concerning forging statistics and imposed fines up to about 1.38 million yuan ($203,000).