Yesterday, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan asked all
statistical departments and staff to prepare for the upcoming first
national economic census.
"The implementation plan of the census has been
finalized and other preparations like staff selection and training
are progressing well," said Zeng at a national conference held in
Beijing.
He said the census is extremely important because
it is a basis for national economic control and will benefit the
government, companies and people.
All departments and individuals are being asked to
report correct economic information, and to protect the legal
interests of those taking part. Zeng emphasized that census
officials have a responsibility to ensure the results accurately
reflect the data.
Senior officials promised that the data collected
would be treated anonymously and not used as court evidence.
However, some government departments and companies still fear that
they might be punished for having submitted inaccurate figures or
evading tax in the past.
"The census is aimed at obtaining accurate data for
macroeconomic policy decision making, not seeking evidence to
prosecute anyone," said Li Deshui, director of the National Bureau
of Statistics.
The census, scheduled to begin December 31, is
designed to find out about secondary and tertiary industries and
complete a database covering all sectors for future economic and
social planning. It will involve nearly 10 million statisticians
and volunteers and could cost billions of yuan.
State-level trial census programs have been
launched in the three provinces of Jilin, Zhejiang and Sichuan and
the city of Beijing this year.
Since establishing a cyclical census system in
1994, six general surveys have been carried out, but the statistics
released have often been accused of being inflated or inaccurate.
At present, China is engaged in overall reform of its statistical
systems in an endeavor to reach international standards.
(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2004)