■Banking
ANZ wants to stay in China
The head of Australia's third largest bank, ANZ Banking Group Ltd, signalled yesterday his determination to stay in China for the long haul, saying though it was difficult for foreigners to make money in the populous country. ANZ chief executive John McFarlane said establishing a strong presence in China was part of a strategy that would see the bank's investment in Asian operations increase by as much as four-fold in the next three to five years. ANZ recently signed a cooperation alliance with the Shanghai Rural Credit Cooperative and McFarlane said the bank was looking for improved performance from its Chinese operations after losing US$100 million (US$60 million) in bad debts in China. "It's harder for foreigners to make money in China than it is for domestic enterprises but let's put it this way, we're approaching it by working with a local partner, leveraging their franchise and levering our capability.
■ Wireless networks
Demand predicted to rise
Intersil Corp, the largest maker of chips for transmitting wireless data on personal computers, and other companies are vying to meet expected demand for wireless computer-networking technology, even though chip prices are declining, Barron's reported. Intersil expects there will be at least 100 million wireless-fidelity, or "Wi-Fi," capable systems in the market by end of 2004 as they become more widely adopted, the weekly newspaper said. Corporate customers are the largest part of the wireless-network market, though this segment is the slowest growing too. Avaya Inc, the biggest US maker of office-telephone equipment, have begun pushing wireless business phones that enable access anywhere through Wi-Fi chips.
Agencies
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique