Falsifying of economic data by officials only serves themselves
IN HIS ANNUAL GOVERNMENT WORK REPORT to the provincial legislature, Chen Qiufa, governor of Northeast China's Liaoning province, admitted that officials of cities in his province fabricated economic data and exaggerated the GDP growth rate from 2011 to 2014. It is good for a governor to admit mistakes, but will the officials that fabricated the data pay for their misdeeds? Beijing News comments:
These Liaoning officials were rather "creative" with the economic data. In Youyan county alone, officials "added" 847 million yuan ($123.5 million) to their 2013 financial income, which is 127 percent higher than the true figure that year. Many Liaoning cities have reportedly committed similar deeds.
A central inspection team noticed what was going on in 2014 and issued a warning. Now, almost three years later, the Liaoning governor finally admitted the facts. Chen did not mention how to solve the problem, but by admitting it he has already made a giant step forward compared with the past.