■ Fiscal policy
Schroeder plans tax cut
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder yesterday signaled his readiness to compromise with Germany's opposition to secure passage of a tax cut that is central to his economic agenda, but the country's main conservative leader raised doubts over prospects of a deal. Schroeder wants the 5.5 billion euro (US$18.5 billion) tax cut to take effect Jan. 1 -- a year earlier than originally planned -- to boost the economy after three years of stagnation. However, the measure needs approval from the opposition-controlled upper house of parliament, and negotiations between government and opposition are currently deadlocked. "We can of course talk about shifting the balance between debt, privatization proceeds and cutting subsidies" in financing the tax cut, Schroeder was quoted as telling the newsmagazine Der Spiegel.
■ Airlines
Alliance plans e-ticketing
Star Alliance, a network of the world's 15 leading airline companies, said yesterday it plans to equip itself with global electronic ticketing capabilities by the end of next year. The plan was endorsed by the chief executive officers of the member companies at a meeting in Tokyo Saturday, Star Alliance said in a statement, emphasising that "lost tickets are no longer an issue." "Without having to carry traditional paper ticket documents, passengers can check in for travel by using no more than a personal identification" such as a credit card or mileage program card under the new system, the statement said. Star Alliance, established in 1997, has 15 members at present.
■ Tourism
Bureau plans activities
A series of activities have been launched by many sectors in Taiwan to attract tourists around the world since the government designated next year as "Taiwan Tourism Year," and such programs have included a strategic alliance with South Korea's LG Group and Hana Tour. Wang Jen-teh, representative of Taiwan's Tourism Bureau in South Korea, said yesterday that under the strategic alliance with the LG Group, the group's online shopping Web site www.lgeshop.com has from Dec. 1 presented commercials to promote Taiwan tourism. The promotion will run for 25 days. According to Wang, nearly 7,000 people visited the Web site in the first day to seek more information about Taiwan. Under the cooperation program, Hana Tour will offer logistic services to the online visitors interested in touring Taiwan.
■ Internet
China becomes No.2
China will probably have 78 million Internet users by the end of the year, keeping its position as second only to the US for the number of people online, state media reported yesterday. The figure was announced by Hu Qiheng, chairwoman of the Internet Society of China, a government-backed industry regulator, the Xinhua news agency said on its website. It marks an increase of 32 percent from 59.1 million users at the end of last year. China's government has conflicting attitudes towards the Internet, as it is happy about upgrading the population's technological skills but worried people might be influenced by subversive ideas found online. A recent series of detentions and trials of high-profile cyber-dissidents reflects this concern, as does a plan to police what sites people visit at the country's 110,000 Internet cafes.
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