■Banking
Mutiny won't affect banks
Philippine banks will open for business as usual today, central bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura said. His comments came after a group of rebel soldiers seized a hotel and planted bombs in Manila. The soldiers charged Philippine President Gloria Arroyo with corruption and other crimes and were demanding her resignation. The mutineers stormed a financial district in Manila, wiring explosives throughout the area and taking up defensive positions near a hotel popular with expatriates, many of whom -- including the Australian ambassador to the Philippines -- were held briefly before being released.
■ Breweries
Yanjing grabs Fujian firm
Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co, China's second-biggest brewer, bought a majority stake in Fujian province's largest brewery, the first takeover in the industry involving two publicly traded companies, Beijing Youth Daily said. Yanjing Brewery purchased a 38.15 percent stake in Huiquan Brewage Group Inc for 362.4 million yuan (US$43.8 million) from local authorities in the eastern province of Fujian, making it the majority shareholder, the report said. Huiquan produced 371,870 tonnes of beer last year, generating 900 million yuan in sales. The Hui'an, Fujian province-based brewery went public on the yuan-denominated A-share stock market on Feb. 26 and raised 450 million yuan.
■ Corporate ethics
Sony establishes guidelines
Sony Corp established a corporate code of conduct for its executives and employees worldwide to reduce management risk and promote fair competition, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said. The 20 rules in four sections on legal compliance, human rights, fair business activity and ethical behavior will soon be published on Sony's Web site, the newspaper reported, without saying where it obtained the information. Executives and employees violating the rules could face penalties, the paper said. The code applies to Sony's group companies world wide, it said. The code will replace guidelines prepared in 1946 by one of Sony's founders, Masaru Ibuka, according to the report. The company felt the need to update the code because of the growing complexity of its activities, the report said.
■ Semiconductors
Oki plant damaged by quake
An Oki Electric Industry Co subsidiary halted operations at a semiconductor plant in northeastern Japan after three earthquakes shook the area yesterday, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said. The unit yesterday barred employees from entering the clean room of the plant in Miyagi Prefecture, the newspaper reported. The plant will resume operations after the extent of the damage is determined, the report quoted an unidentified official of the subsidiary, Miyagi Oki Electric Co, as saying. An earthquake in May caused about Japanese Yen 1.2 billion (US$10 million) in damage to the plant, the report said. A Fujitsu Ltd semiconductor plant in the area halted then resumed operations at a local plant after finding no major damage, the newspaper reported. Plants of NEC Electronics Corp and Toshiba Corp in neighboring Yamagata Prefecture were not damaged, the report said. The most powerful of the earthquakes yesterday had a magnitude of 6.2.
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
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
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
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