■Labor
S Korea cuts work week
South Korea's parliament approved yesterday a controversial labor bill, which will cut the official work week to five days from six and bring the country in line with most other industrialized countries. Lawmakers voted for the proposal aimed at cutting the work week to 40 hours from 44, essentially scrapping the practice of working a half day on Saturday, a National Assembly official said. The revision, which was part of an election platform of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, who took office in February, has faced opposition from labor groups demanding better benefits.
■ Semiconductors
Chartered sells technology
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (特許), the world's No. 3 chipmaker, is selling its older technology and equipment to a Chinese firm for US$33 million in cash and shares. As part of the deal signed on Thursday, Chartered will end up with a stake of up to 11.15 percent in they buyer, CSMC Technologies Corp, based in Wuxi, northwest of Shanghai. Chia Song Hwee, president and chief executive, said the deal was part of Chartered's plan to "work with a selected partner to establish an initial manufacturing presence in China." Chartered announced earlier this year the decommissioning of its first wafer foundry and home to its oldest technology.
■ Trade disputes
WTO probes GMO battle
The WTO yesterday launched a probe into the EU's refusal to accept most genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which Washington says violates trading rules, trade officials said. The US, backed by Canada and Argentina, says that the Europeans, who have not allowed new genetically modified crops to be imported or grown in the EU's 15 member states since 1998, have shown no willingness to end the embargo. But the EU denies that it is in breach of WTO rules. The investigation, which will begin with a ruling by a panel of three trade judges, could take up to 18 months. "The panel has been set up," a trade official said. Last month, EU farm ministers approved a labeling program for biotech food and animal feed which was seen as an important step towards lifting the moratorium. Washington says that there is no scientific evidence pointing to human health or environmental problems related to biotech products and argues that the EU program is not sufficient.
■ Trade
Clark wants focus on Asia
New Zealand has been missing opportunities to expand its trade with Asia, Prime Minister Helen Clark told business leaders yesterday. Exports to Asian countries, with the exception of China, are falling and it is time to reverse the trend, she said. "The latest figures put the region's share of New Zealand's total exports at 35 percent, below a peak of 37 percent in 2001," she noted. "Put bluntly, our country has not been maximizing the potential of ... relationships" in Asia, she told the launch of the Asia 2000 Foundation's "Seriously Asia" project in Auckland. The foundation aims to foster links between New Zealand and Asian nations. "Asia in New Zealand is a reality, and so too is New Zealand in Asia," she said. "The big difference is that a small country like New Zealand needs the Asian dynamic far more than the large countries of the region need us," Clark added.
Agencies
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2