■SARS closures
Ricoh closes factory
Ricoh Co, Japan's second-biggest office-equipment maker, said it shut a factory in Beijing for six days earlier this month after a worker was diagnosed with SARS. Ricoh closed the plant, which produces thermal transfer ribbons, from May 6 to 11, said spokesman Takanobu Matsunami. The company, which said SARS hasn't affected its production or earnings, asked 50 of the plant's 60 employees to stay home during the period. SARS has killed 662 people worldwide, with more than 80 percent of deaths in China and Hong Kong, according to the World Health Organization's Web site.
■ Technology
Temporary DVD unveiled
The Walt Disney Co is to test a rental DVD that self destructs in a bid to increase home viewing of its movies. The DVD's will go on sale in August for slightly more than it costs to rent a movie. Buyers can view the enclosed movie as many times as they want for 48 hours after opening the package, after which a chemical will be released that will render the movie unwatchable. Disney also plans to launch a trial version of a pay-per-view movie receiver box, which will plug into televisions like other devices such as video recorders. The box will come pre-loaded with 100 films, and Disney will upload about 10 more per month via broadcast in the pilot markets. Scheduled to launch in Salt Lake City and two other cities, Disney will make the set-top receivers available for rent at elec-tronics stores. Movie prices will be similar to those of rentals, and viewers will be able to watch a rented film as many times as they wish within a 24-hour period. Disney hopes that cus-tomers will use its new technology from home rather than drive to video rental stores.
■ Taxes
Expats keep tax break
The US Congress appears likely to retain tax-free status for 6 million Americans living overseas that make less than US$80,000 per year, the Asian Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. A repeal of the Section 911 income-tax exclusion would make employing US workers more expensive and would send many expats home. Senate and House members have been taken aback by an aggressive campaign against the change from US businesses abroad, the report said. The repeal has modest support in the Senate and is expected to be retained by a majority in the House of Representatives, it said. Senate and House negotiators could finalize a decision no earlier than next Monday.
■ Monetary policy
Bank chief becomes cabbie
Brazil's respected former Central Bank chief Arminio Fraga is soon to be seen dispensing financial wisdom from behind the wheel of a taxi. Fraga is set to appear as a taxi-driver in one of Brazil's most popular satirical television shows, Casseta&Planeta, a local network said on Tuesday. In the skit a businessman is shocked to find his cab driver confidently expound-ing views on the wild swings of Brazil's exchange rate. Fraga's cover is eventually blown and he explains why he has chosen his new profession. "After I left the Central Bank I started thinking, where can a guy with my curriculum and knowledge be used to his full potential? In a taxi! Because the people who really run the economy and everything else are taxi drivers," Fraga is scripted to say, according to a Globo Television spokesman.
Agencies
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
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