Xinhua recently republished an article by China Youth Daily, discussing the quality of officially published data. The latest report by the Ministry of Land and Resources showed that the average housing cost rose 25.1% last year, while not so long ago the State Statistics Bureau claimed only 1.5% for the same period. Many people don’t even believe the 25% result. The article suggested that “number management” is an important measurement of a modern society. It can have a major impact on decision making. The latest example of a failure on this point is the government of Greece, which based activities on incorrect statistics. The article called for a “responsible attitude” in the Chinese official statistics institutes.
Source: Xinhua, April 2, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/zgjx/2010-04/02/content_13287120.htm