Construction: HK scaffolding unsafe
It has always looked highly precarious to foreign visitors. Now a new report published yesterday confirms that bamboo scaffolding really might be unsafe. The traditional scaffolding leans out of the side of buildings 30 storeys and more high around Hong Kong and is used across Asia because of bamboo's strength and its easy availability. Its proponents say bamboo is so strong there is no need to use steel scaffolding, and generations of expert scaffolders have passed on methods of tying and erecting bamboo scaffolds to dizzying heights. However, a two-year study by Hong Kong's University of Science and Technology found that the quality of the most commonly used bamboo in scaffolding varies greatly. It can also deteriorate quickly in high humidity.
Automakers: GM opens China shop
General Motors Corp has opened its first AutoWorld import dealer in northeastern China's Dalian city, to bring in Saabs, Cadillacs and Opels to the world's fastest growing vehicle market. GM plans to open five additional showrooms by the end of this year, and to expand the network to 30 outlets by the end of next year, said Lori Williams, its director of vehicle sales. "WTO is creating new opportunities for the sale of imported vehicles in China," Williams said. "We decided to take advantage and leverage our global resources and portfolio to better meet the needs of our Chinese customers." General Motors, which runs four joint ventures in China and employs more than 8,000 workers in the country, is expanding the range of its products to compete with other foreign automakers such as Volkswagen AG.
Memory Cards: Matsushita says demand up
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, in response to more demand for storage capacity in devices such as digital cameras and mobile phones, may boost production of memory cards early next year. The world's No. 1 consumer-electronics maker has seen demand for its SD memory cards surge since the company lowered prices to below those of a competing technology from Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric general manager Nobuyoshi Yokobori said in an interview. SD memory cards are postage-stamp sized devices capable of storing data such as digital music files and photographs. They've become widespread in devices such as digital cameras and portable music players because of their convenience and ability to store large quantities of digital information many times over.
Drinking study: Alcohol warps perceptions
A study has established a link between drinking alcohol and perceptions of beauty. Researchers in Scotland found evidence of the so-called "beer goggles" effect in a study involving 80 students. Glasgow University students were shown color photographs of 120 male and female St Andrews University students aged between 18 and 26. Participants were asked to rate their aesthetic properties on a scale of between one - highly unattractive -- to seven -- highly attractive. Half of the students had drunk up to four units of alcohol, equivalent to a maximum of around two pints of lager or two-and-a-half glasses of wine. The 40 tipsy aesthetes rated the people in the photographs as broadly more attractive than their abstemious counterparts.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from