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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Crime
Three accused of design theft
Taiwanese prosecutors have indicted three people, including a Chinese American, over copyright violations related to high-tech design theft. The alleged theft of integrated circuit designs has cost a leading manufacturer US$10 million in losses, according to a Chinese-language newspaper. Prosecutors have accused Wang Qi, a Chinese American who owns a technology company in Shanghai, of paying an employee of Taiwan-based ALi Corporation's research and development department, Sun Chih-chiang, some NT$600,000 Taiwan (US$17,600) in January for ALi's USB2.0 design blueprint. The deal was allegedly brokered by Chia Huei-hsien, a sales manager from another Taiwanese technology company. Wang was arrested earlier this year when he arrived in Taiwan for a computer show, according to the paper.

■ Trade
Parris goes to Moscow
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Parris Chang (張旭成) will lead a delegation to Moscow today for a two-day conference about the prospects for trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Taiwan in the context of Russia's admission to the WTO. The Taiwanese delegation, which includes government officials and scholars, will arrive in Moscow tomorrow. The conference will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. "We will talk about how to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Russia and Taiwan under the WTO umbrella," Chang said. The Russian Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Russian Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry will also participate in the conference.

■ Survey
Foreigners fume over English
Foreigners visiting or living in Taiwan feel least satisfied with the English-language services in the shopping environment, according to a survey released by the Cabinet yesterday. The poll, conducted by the Cabinet's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission between July 26 and Sep. 19, found that foreigners visiting or residing here were unhappy with English services in various areas. Their gripes include the inconsistent spelling systems used for street and store signs, the inability of civil servants, eatery clerks and taxi drivers to speak English and insufficient labeling of drugs in English. More than 42 percent of foreigners working, studying or residing here said they were displeased with the overall English environment. A total of 1,511 foreigners were questioned, of which 1,068 were visitors to Taiwan and 443 residents who are working or studying here.

■ Health
SARS `not to be feared'
Another outbreak of SARS in Taiwan this winter is possible, but in light of the experience gained in fighting the disease earlier this year, the public should not be alarmed, Academia Sinica Vice President Michael Lai (賴明詔) said yesterday. Lai, who has studied the coronavirus for more than 20 years in the US before assuming his job in Taiwan, told members of the Formosan Medical Association that the virus, which is believed to be the cause of SARS, might stay in patients' systems after they have been cured, and could be passed on to others. The public can protect itself properly by following the precautionary measures worked out by the Department of Health, Lai said.

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