【新唐人2013年06月21日訊】中共國家統計局在官方網站發佈﹕廣東某鎮工業產值統計弄虛作假，上報數字超過真實產值近4倍，令外界感到怵目驚心。但有業內人士責問，地方政府資料造假由來已久，當局早該有所了解，為何縱容到現在才開始曝光？
6月14號，統計局發佈公告顯示，廣東省中山市橫欄鎮，嚴重誇大了當地大型企業工業總產值的統計資料。被抽查的73家企業中，有38家規模太小，根本算不上大型企業，另外還有19家停產、搬遷或註銷。此外，統計局還核查出71家企業實際為22億多元的工業總產值，竟被當地政府虛報成85億多元。
公告還說，橫欄鎮有關領導在去年5月就已經知道造假一事，卻選擇坐視不管。
有報導認為，這說明「數字出官，官出數字」的地方歪風，已經積重難返。
外媒則評論說，沒人知道資料造假問題在大陸其他地方有多普遍。但可以肯定的是，這個問題可能已經存在多年。
美國南卡羅萊納大學艾肯商學院教授謝田：「 我想也許從自由世界來說，海外許多獨立的媒體已經大量的、充分的曝光了中共經濟造假，實際上造假從江澤民時代開始登峰造極，到前任的胡錦濤時代都一直在進行。」
還有金融專家指出，地方資料造假成風，虛報數字嚴重誇大，中央不可能一無所知，卻依然將地方財政收入的高低作為提拔晉陞官員的主要參考，縱容了造假思想的蔓延，甚至一些地方政府彼此間打起「泡沫戰」和「間諜戰」，中央依然熟視無睹，直到現在「地方統計造假」對中國經濟產生了巨大負面影響，才開始亡羊補牢，但為時已晚，因為政府公信力已經喪失殆盡。
謝田﹕「中國政府現在一反常態，曝光地方政府虛報經濟數據，我猜測，也許是新的領導人可能不願意繼續揹負這個數據造假的黑鍋。以前現任總理李克強也曾經跟美國人承認，就是他根本自己都不相信中國自己的數據。是不是現在把造假的東西推給前任，慢慢讓其曝光，然後讓經濟真正的組成秩序暴露出來，或者揭示出來，這個我們還不能夠完全確認，但至少也許這是趨勢。」
雖然從去年3月開始，統計局掀起了一陣「統計打假」風暴，連續通報了重慶永川區、山西河津市、甘肅玉門市、福建建甌市等四個地方的資料造假，但最終雷聲大，雨點小，最高處罰不過是行政處分，連開除處分都極其少見。因此，有評論認為，地方統計造假與問責乏力也有很大關係。
曾經發表文章《時下中國十大迷思》(10 China Myths for the New Decade)的美國傳統基金會研究員史劍道(Derek Scissors)博士，過去曾經說過﹕中國經濟快速增長的原因無他，就是數據造假，但卻誤導眾人。
謝田﹕「不管怎麼說，真相大白是大勢所趨，不管是經濟真相，很可能涉及到中國的社會真相、中共迫害的真相，許許多多真相可能都在慢慢的揭示出來，也許我們從經濟上先看到了最新的勢頭。」
美國《華爾街日報》評論表示，最好不要對中國經濟資料太信以為真。無論是通脹、工業增加值還是能耗和國際貿易，所有資料似乎都與看到的情況不相符，如果參照其他指標，有些資料甚至難以站得住腳。而人為誇大經濟數據，可能會令全國各地的企業和地方政府，在評估經濟減速對他們的影響方面，難上加難。
採訪/常春 編輯/張天宇 後製/李智遠
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Local Authorities Falsification of Economic Data Exposed
China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
has released a statement on its official website.
It says that the local Chinese Communist Party
(CCP) authorities of a town in Guangdong province
have falsified local industrial output figures.
The fraudulent figure put forward was
four times the actual amount of output.
Some industry insiders have asked if local authorities』
economic data falsification has existed for very long.
The CCP central authorities are supposed to
have been aware of it early.
Why have they condoned the fraudulent practice
over years and, only now begun to expose it?
On June 14, the latest NBS bulletin reported on the
falsification of economic data by local authorities
of Henglan, a town in Zhongshan city.
Among a sample of 73 local “large” enterprises,
38 are actually very small firms.
Another 19 had either stopped production,
moved away, or had ceased to exist.
Also, 71 enterprises were found with an actual
industrial output of 2.2 billion yuan,
this figure, however, suddenly increased and
was recorded as 8.5 billion yuan by local authorities.
The official statement said that Henglan’s leaders had
been aware of the falsehood as early as in May 2012.
However, they simply sat back and did nothing about it.
Media have reported that this exposes a chronic habit
among China’s official communities, that has been impossible to stamp out.
The habit is, “Figures determine officials’ positions,
and officials habitually invent figures.”
Foreign media have reviewed that no one knows
how commonplace data fabrication is across China.
But what is certain is that the problem may have
existed for many years.
(Prof. Univ. of South Carolina-Aiken) Xie Tian:
“Overseas independent media have given ample
coverage of data fraud by CCP authorities.
It actually peaked during the tenure of Jiang Zemin,
and continued to exist in the era of Hu Jintao.”
Some financial experts say that it is impossible that
the CCP central has known nothing about
rampant economic data fraud at local levels.
Yet local fiscal revenue has still been used
as a primary indicator in official promotion.
The experts think that this has fuelled
the fraudulent practice in China.
Some local regions’fiscal revenues have been
intentionally exaggerated,
whilst the CCP central still turns a blind eye to it.
Until now, local statistical fraud has created a hugely
negative impact on China’s economy.
But it is too late to remedy, according to comments,
as the CCP regime has lost all credibility.
Xie Tian: “China’s authorities are now
changing all of a sudden.
They have begun to expose local authorities’
falsification of economic data.
I speculate that this is because the new CCP leaders
don’t want to continue to bear guilt for falsified statistics.
Even Premier Li Keqiang once admitted to America
that he himself doesn’t trust official data.
We cannot be entirely sure of the real intention
behind this official exposure.
It may be either to pass the blame for
falsification on their predecessors,
or it may simply be to expose the truth.
But at least it seems to be a trend.”
In March 2012, the NBS started a campaign
to combat the manipulation of statistics.
It has exposed data falsification by the four local
authorities of Chongqing, Shanxi, Gansu and Fujian.
Consequently, the maximum punishment imposed
on implicated officials, has been administrative sanction.
Media have commented that continuing local statistical
fraud has much to do with a weak accountability system.
Dr. Derek Scissors is a senior research fellow
at the Heritage Foundation.
In an article, he said, “There are lies and damned lies;
then there’s China’s GDP data!”
“Exaggerating Chinese prowess and emphasizing
the wrong issues leads to general mistakes…”
Xie Tian: “Anyhow, the truth will eventually out,
which is an unavoidable end to the story.
And I believe that the economic truth is likely to
spill more truths that remain covered-up in China,
such as the truth about society itself and about
the CCP’s persecution of scapegoat groups.
The sign may have just made an appearance
in the economic situation first.”
The Wall Street Journal has commented that
“It’s typically advisable not to accept Chinese
economic data at face value.
Figures on everything from inflation and industrial
output to energy consumption and international trade
often don’t seem to gel with observation and
sometimes they struggle to stack up and tally
when compared with other indicators.”
Also, the article warns that “artificially inflated figures
always further complicate efforts by companies
and governments everywhere to gauge
what that slowdown means for them.”
