In Tuesday's Papers: Lanzhou Learned Water Tainted Nine Days after Fact; Ctrip, Qunar Bosses Send Out Emails about Merger Talk

Lanzhou Learned Water Tainted Nine Days after Fact

A water supply company in Lanzhou, the capital of the northwestern province of Gansu, found high levels of a cancer-causing chemical in tap water on April 2, nine days before the company told the government and informed the public. “Residents of Lanzhou might have already drunk some water with excessive levels of benzene,” Yan Xiaotao, deputy general manager at Lanzhou Veolia Water Co., said on April 14. The government said on April 11 that levels of benzene had risen to 20 times above national safety standards and warned residents to not drink the tap water for the next 24 hours. The city’s Intermediate People’s Court has rejected a lawsuit filed by five residents seeking compensations and a public apology from Veolia Water. A member of an investigative team has linked the water contamination to leaks that followed explosions on China National Petroleum Corp. oil pipelines in 1987 and 2002. A large amount of oil leaked, seeped into the ground and chemicals wound up in treatment facilities for groundwater, the expert said.

Original article by Caixin

Ctrip, Qunar Bosses Send Out Emails about Merger Talk

The CEOs of the country’s two Nasdaq-listed online travel agents have sent emails to their employees about speculation they will merge a week after they denied reports they would join forces. Ctrip.com CEO Liang Jianzhang said the company was fully capable of independent development and told employees to pay attention to their work. Zhuang Chenchao, CEO of Qunar.com, wrote in a vaguely worded company email that his management team would play the lead role in any investment decisions. An industry source said that the companies started talking about a merger about two years ago, but were unable to come to an agreement.

Original article by Caixin

Insurers to Provide 9 Tln Yuan for Urbanization by 2015

The country’s insurance companies are expected to invest about 9 trillion yuan to finance urbanization projects by 2015, said Wang Zuji, vice chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. Some 1.72 trillion yuan was added to the pool of insurance premiums last year and the pool will be an important source of funding for the country’s urbanization, Wang said. Insurers are expected to invest up to 7.14 trillion yuan in related stocks and bonds, and another 2 trillion yuan is expected to be directly invested in projects.

Original article by Caixin

Platform to Give Gov’t Better Picture of Petitions

A platform will be built by the end of the year to better gather and share information on petitions being filed around the country, said Shu Xiaoqin, head of the State Bureau for Letters and Calls. Shu said a pilot would start on December 1. The platform would allow the central government to have a better idea of the number of petitions being filed and what people’s concerns are. Some 1,831 counties and 275 cities in 29 provinces and municipalities had online forums for people to make their complaints against government by the end of 2013.

Original article by Caixin

TV Regulator Seeks More Diverse Programming

The film and TV regulator has taken a step that may mean more diverse programming becomes available to viewers. The new rules would limit the number of satellite TV stations that can broadcast the same show during prime time to two, sources with knowledge of the matter said. The proposed policy was sent to all major TV stations on April 15 and may be announced soon. It could take effect as early as the beginning of 2015. Analysts say the regulator wants TV stations to start offering more variety. Data from the regulator shows that about 17,000 episodes of TV shows have been made every year for the past several years. One film company executive said only about half were ever seen because TV stations did not air them.

Original article by China Business News