■ Politics
Goh promises to step down
Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟) said he would be comfortable about stepping down in favor of chosen successor Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) if the economy grew 3 percent to 4 percent, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. Goh, who has been Prime Minister since 1990, chose Deputy Prime Minister Lee in August to succeed him, saying the transition could occur before the next general election due in 2007 and possibly even next year if the economy recovered. The newspaper quoted Goh as telling reporters on Saturday he would decide after the first quarter of next year. "Political transition is on track. At the moment, I am open. I do not have any date in mind," Goh said. The government's official forecast is for GDP growth of 0.5 to 1.0 percent this year, rising to between 3 percent and 5 percent next year.
■ Statistics
Businesspeople optimistic
About 70 percent of business leaders believe the Japanese economy is improving, a Kyodo News survey showed. According to the survey results released late Saturday, not only was business sentiment improving but there was optimism for a full recovery next year, with 75 percent of business executives expecting the economy to moderately expand. Twenty-eight major companies, or 25 percent, of the 112 polled said the economy "remains flat" -- a sharp decline from 85 percent in a similar survey in the summer, Kyodo said. In contrast, 78 firms regarded it as "expanding moderately," with none suggesting it was "suffering a setback."
■ Trade
Australia-US talks planned
Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile may visit Washington late next month to complete a free-trade agreement with chief US negotiator Bob Zoellick, Sydney's Sunday Telegraph reported. Talks remain unresolved on opening US agricultural markets to more Australian exports, Australia's strict quarantine laws and on government-mandated prices charged in Australia for some US drugs, the newspaper said. Australian Prime Minister John Howard and US President George W. Bush had said they wanted to sign an agreement by the end of this year. Annual trade between the two nations was worth US$31 billion last year. A free-trade agreement may be worth US$2.7 billion in extra annual sales for Australian businesses, an Australian government report said. The US is Australia's biggest market for beef and lamb, and is a major buyer of minerals and fiber.
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
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
‘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)