■ Electricity
China to expand power grid
China plans to spend 19 billion yuan (US$2.3 billion) this year to expand power grids that service the country's eastern cities because shortages threaten economic growth, state news agency Xinhua reported without citing anyone. China will merge grids operated by the East China Power Grid Corp and a grid that services cities in Fujian province, about 400km south of Shanghai, and put 23 new generators, totaling 7.8 million kilowatts of capacity, online to stem shortages, the report said. That would help cover shortages estimated at as much as 10 million kilowatts this year, it said. Rising incomes in China prompted companies to expand output. That led to weekly power failures last year in as many as 19 of China's 29 provinces and regions, including Shanghai, adding urgency to boost power capacity.
■ Airlines
AirAsia `misled' customers
Budget carrier AirAsia has rejected accusations by Malaysia's tourism minister that it misled customers by failing to honor advertise-ments that offer tickets for as low as 1.99 ringgit (US$0.50), news reports said yesterday. AirAsia's chief executive Tony Fernandes claimed similar advertisements were used by other budget carriers worldwide such as Southwest Airlines in the US and Europe's Ryanair. "Our ads are not cheating anyone," Fernandes was quoted as saying by the Sunday Star newspaper. "No one is forced to fly. If they feel the fare is not right, they can choose not to fly." Malaysian Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir last week called for an investigation into the newspaper advertisements, which he claimed were "misleading" because the lower prices sometimes applied to only about 30 percent of seats.
■ Electronics
NEC consolidates R&D
NEC Corp, Japan's largest maker of personal computers, will consolidate and expand research divisions at its headquarters this month to strengthen product development, Nihon Keizai Shimbun said, without citing anyone. The Tokyo-based company will boost its research staff by about 40 percent to about 2,000 and the research and development budget for the next three years will be increased by 50 percent to ?180 billion (US$1.7 billion), the report said. Under the new system, NEC will have about 130 workers involved in research for "ubiquitous computing," which means access to the Internet from anywhere. The company will also boost the number of people involved in security system development by 150 percent and the number of researchers for mobile phone technology will be boosted by 50 percent. NEC had previously run separate research divisions for different kinds of products.
■ Retail Sales
Vietnam stocks up for Tet
Hanoi's businesses have stocked up on everything from pork to petrol ahead of this year's Tet New Year, to begin on Jan. 22, state media reported yesterday. According to Nhan Dan Economic News, the city's store keepers have stockpiled goods worth US$20 million to prepare for the three day lunar New Year. The goods include 350 tonnes of pork, 50 tonnes of meat pies, 150 tonnes of processed food, 300,000 liters of cooking oil, 200 tonnes of sugar and 300 tonnes of cakes and candy. Residents of Hanoi are also expected to consume 20,000 banh chung, or square sticky rice cakes.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source