16. Jan 2010
Crackdown on illegal surveying and mapping
(Xinhua) The authorities in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) will intensify their efforts to crack down on illegal surveying and mapping in 2010, according to the regional Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. It will also "tighten supervision over the illegal collection of geographic information related to military affairs under the signboard of travels, exploration and scientific surveys". An official from the bureau noted that similar cases in other parts of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in recent years have "sounded the alarm for Tibet". In 2007, He claimed, a "foreigner" collected 54 sets of GPS data in a PRC province without government approval "in violation of the Chinese surveying and mapping law".