Province probes interference in ski resort's activities

Northeast China's Heilongjiang province on Thursday ordered a local ski resort management committee to apologize to a private company in the sector and would punish its staff involved for "serious disciplinary violations."

The announcement came as a video clip went viral recently, in which Mao Zhenhua, chairman of the Sun Mountain ski resort at Yabuli, a town in Heilongjiang, accused the local resort management authorities of "using power to edge out private companies", including asset seizures and unreasonable police investigations.

"We have been here for 22 years," Mao said in the video. "Then they (the management committee) come along. They are the government but also a company. They use the government cover to seize our assets."

"Policemen keep summoning our executives, so we cannot operate our business normally," said Mao, who is also chairman of Beijing-based ratings agency China Chengxin Credit, and a professor at Renmin University of China.

According to Mao, local officials have seized the land that he had bought for future development.

The provincial government said that the management committee's misconduct was due to "a lack of awareness of laws and regulations", and those personnel involved would face "serious punishment".

The provincial government also ordered its Department of Land and Resources to select a third-party agency in an open manner to evaluate the land price, and to deal with the matter in accordance with the law.

Liu Yuqing, chief operation officer with Beijing Chilun Yichuang Technology Co Ltd, said that "the quick and objective response from the provincial government would help facilitate the development of private companies."

During a recent trip to local companies, Zhang Qingwei, Party secretary of Heilongjiang province, asked the provincial forest industry department to take the lead in reducing administrative interference in company operations and to stimulate the vitality of all market players.

Zhou Huiying contributed to the story.