China to crack down on violations of statistics law

China announced Thursday a list of 30 government departments, institutions and enterprises who violated the country's statistics law by refusing to provide data or by giving false figures.

At the top of the list is the Veteran Cadre Bureau of the Commission for Supervision and Management of State-owned Properties under the State Council, which repeatedly declined to cooperate with economic census personnel even though the act was publicized by the China Central Television Station.

"Preparations have entered the crucial stage for the nation's first economic census due to begin on Dec. 31, and we shall intensify the crackdown on violations of the law to ensure that the census is a success," said Li Deshui, director of the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's first and largest economic census, the survey is designed to draw an economic panorama of China's secondary and tertiary industries and complete a database covering all economic sectors for the Chinese government to outline future plans for economic and social development.

Saying that some local governments had submitted phony figures in the past, Li said the top priority of the current census was to ensure the government would get accurate, timely and comprehensive figures.

He pledged that the data gathered during the census would be kept strictly secret and that no other government departments would be allowed to punish anyone by using the data as evidence.

The census will involve nearly 10 million statisticians and volunteers and could cost billions of yuan.