■ Internet
Free software offered
Software maker Computer Associates is offering worldwide PC users free anti-virus software as part of an effort to fight the epidemic of Internet attacks. The company said it would offer the EZ-Armor anti-virus program and a firewall to qualified Windows home computer users. "The widespread embrace of PCs and the Internet has put extremely powerful technology in the hands of consumers," said Toby Weiss, senior vice president at CA. "To ensure the safety and integrity of the Internet experience, we are making CA's powerful enterprise-class security technology readily available to home computer users while supporting Microsoft's `Protect Your PC' campaign." The company cited a study showing there are roughly 105 virus infections per 1,000 PCs per month. This has increased steadily from 32 per 1,000 in 1998. The announcement was made at the Comdex computer industry trade show.
■ Electronics
Philips boosts production
LG Philips LCD, a joint venture between South Korea's LG Group and Royal Philips Electronics, plans to boost spending to build a production line for flat panels to meet increasing demand for large-screen televisions. LG Philips plans to spend 3.3 trillion won (US$2.8 billion) this year to build what is known as a sixth-generation liquid-crystal display production line capable of handling 90,000 sheets a month, 50 percent more than originally planned, spokesman Kim Chang Dong said. Kim declined to comment on a Maeil Business Newspaper report that said the spending plan is about 1 trillion won more than earlier projections. The production line will make panels for televisions with screens larger than 81cm, the report said. LG Philips, Samsung Electronics and other flat-panel producers are boosting investments to build larger-sized panels, betting demand for bigger flat-screen televisions will increase. Samsung Electronics, which was the world's biggest flat-panel display maker last year, is jointly investing with Sony to build a production line larger than LG Philips.
■ Statistics
China defends GDP figures
China's director of statistics defended the nation's GDP figures yesterday, saying despite imperfections the method of compiling data basically reflected economic growth in the country. "I can confidently tell everyone that China's statistical work and method of collecting data is basically integrated with internationally accepted standards," said Li Deshui, director of the National Bureau of Statistics.
■ Trade
EU ready to scrap rules
The EU is prepared to scrap its efforts to draft rules on customs simplification and the awarding of government contracts under international trade law, in an effort to revive talks that collapsed two months ago. WTO discussions foundered when developing nations, led by India, refused to act on EU proposals for investment, competition, customs red tape and procurement contracts to be written into WTO law. On the final day of negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy offered to shelve two of the four issues -- investment and competition -- to save the talks from failure. Instead, those rules may be more effective as a series of agreements that the WTO's 148 members can chose to sign, he said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary