■ Development
China cuts illegal zones
China plans to sharply cut the number of industrial parks and development zones -- more than half of which are illegal -- in a crackdown on land allocation practices, the China Daily said yesterday. Of the country's 3,837 development zones and industrial parks, only 1,251 were approved by the State Council -- China's cabinet -- or a provincial government, the newspaper said. "We know there are serious land distribution abuse problems involved in those zones and parks and we have devoted this year to figuring out how serious this problem is," it quoted Zhang Xinbao, director of the Ministry of Land and Resources' supervision bureau, as saying. "Next year is the time for action," he said without elaborating.
■ Chipmaking
NEC to spend more
NEC Electronics Corp, the world's largest maker of chips for mobile-phone displays, will increase capital spending by 12 percent in the fiscal year starting April 1 to boost production of chips for cellphones and DVD players, Jiji Press reported. NEC Electronics will spend 110 billion yen (US$1.02 billion), compared with 98 billion yen this year, Jiji said, without saying from whom it obtained the information. NEC Electronics spokesman Seiji Sakai declined to confirm the report, saying the company will announce its capital investment plan in April when it releases this year's earnings. The company, which is based in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, has said it will start mass production at a new chip factory in the northern prefecture of Yamagata by the end of next year. The line will have a monthly capacity to make 4,000 of the silicon wafers onto which chip circuits are etched.
■ IRAQ
Aussie company wins bid
An Australian company has won a A$4 million (US$2.95 million) contract to help build power plants in Iraq, trade minister Mark Vaile said yesterday. The Snowy Mountains Engineering Co (SMEC) will help restore existing plants and build new ones in three northern Iraq regions, he said. "SMEC's work will provide millions of Iraqis with what so many of us take for granted, heat and light at the flick of a switch," Vaile said in a statement. SMEC is the latest Australian company to benefit from US contracts awarded to countries that supported the US-led Iraq war. Australia committed troops to the military campaign and is sharing in the US$18.6 billion that the US-led civil administration in Iraq has earmarked for reconstruction.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from