From Reuters, via The Star:
China on Thursday published the death toll from this year’s natural disasters, until this month considered a state secret, but showed the limit of its new-found transparency by keeping details of past calamities under wraps. ..
“As for the three-year famine in China, we do not have the specific information about the death toll of that disaster, so we will not revise the death toll and nor will we publicise the death toll,” said Jia Zhibang, deputy director of the Disaster Relief Commission.
Jia said the death toll from natural disasters this year stood at 1,629 so far, with economic losses of more than $20 billion.