Geological data will get tighter oversight

The top legislature is reading a draft amendment to the Surveying and Mapping Law, which aims to ensure the safety of geological data, while taking advantage of it.

The draft was submitted to the National People's Congress Standing Committee on Monday for first review and will be discussed at the bimonthly session of the committee.

Zhang Delin, vice-minister of the Ministry of Land and Resources, said that current regulations on surveying and mapping are out of date, "as technological advances have changed the way that people interact with and access data".

"Some geological information is not utilized sufficiently or effectively, while some has security risks and should be veiled due to satellite navigation or positioning reference stations," Zhang said.

The current law was formulated in 1992 and amended for the first time 10 years ago.

The amendment proposes that geological information is further shared on public information platforms, "but who takes responsibility of supervising and protecting the information will be also clarified", Zhang said.