Decoding official statistics takes both sides
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What NBS wants to convey is exactly what the public has failed to recognize: Professionalism has become a hallmark of Chinese statistical framework with most of its functions done in accordance with the international standards, and the work undertaken by the NBS and Chinese statisticians usually involves great sophistication and vigorous data analysis to incorporate the complex economic nature of a rapidly changing country.
It is difficult to translate those findings into a language that the public can seamlessly understand.
Apparently, statisticians expect equally well-trained and statistically literate scholars and journalists to present their case.
But, is the public really prepared to be patronized? Clearly, when the disjunction between statistical abstractions and individual's perception become unbearably sharp, there's just no way to ward off doubts and mistrusts.
When graduates are deeply frustrated at the difficulty in finding a job, but are informed that the unemployment rate stands at a mere 4.1 percent, they have a reason to take umbrage.
In fact, no one is culpable. The figure just accurately reflects the registered jobless population, leaving the unregistered unemployment unaccounted for. The public desires a number that can explicitly reflect their feelings and influence policymaking.
It is understandable that when Wang Xiaolu, an expert in income distribution, posted his challenging research to NBS, asserting that the income disparity and the extent of gray income had become formidable problems, netizens found his numbers more convincing than those of the NBS.
In terms of the availability of figures pertaining to the government's accountability, Chinese statisticians are also reserved. A glimpse at US projects like the Missouri Accountability Portal, which offers scrupulous data of the government's cash flow, offers thrilling possibilities to Chinese taxpayers.
Many statistics that used to be unavailable and regarded as confidential have been opened to the public, like the breakdowns of ministries' budgets since April.
Ultimately, the public and statisticians need a sense of mutual understanding. The public has to understand that the world is far more complicated than ever, and statistics is just designed to summarize the complexity.
The data users need to improve their ability to correctly use figures and try not to mislead the public. Most importantly, the statisticians need to incorporate public needs and listen to their voices.
The author is a reporter with the Global Times. wangdi@globaltimes.com.cn
