■ Trade
China reports deficit
China yesterday reported its first trade deficit in 10 months, as imports to Asia's second-largest economy exceeded exports by US$20 million in January. Imports totaled US$35.74 billion in the first month of the year, an increase of 15.2 percent from the same month in last year, the Ministry of Commerce said on its Web site. Exports came in at US$35.72 billion in the same month, a rise of 19.8 percent from a year earlier. It was the first time China recorded a trade deficit since March last year, when a deficit of US$459 million was recorded. Soaring imports, reflecting a booming local economy, led China's trade surplus last year to shrink by 16 percent. China said earlier this week last year's trade surplus with the US hit US$58.6 billion, less than half the deficit expected by US economists.
■ Communication
Light-based tech developed
In an advance that could inexpensively speed up corporate data centers and eventually personal computers, researchers used everyday silicon to build a device that converts data into light beams. Light-based communications has until now largely been the realm of large telecom companies and long-haul fiber-optic networks because of the expense of the exotic materials required to harness photons, the basic building block of light. Now, researchers at Intel Corp say their results with silicon promise to reduce the cost of photonics by introducing a well-known substance that's more readily available. In the study, published in Thursday's journal Nature, the Intel researchers reported encoding 1 billion bits of data per second, 50 times faster than previous silicon experiments.
■ Computers
Windows flaw found
Leading computer software maker Microsoft warned Tuesday that its Windows operating system could be vulnerable to attacks by hackers. The company announced on its Web site that security firm eEye Digital Security had discovered two critical deficiencies in the Windows NT, 2000, XP and Windows Server 2000 systems that require their immediate update. The faults could be exploited by hackers sending unsolicited data that can damage computer memory, according to the announcement. EEye Digital Security said the defects were more serious than those exploited by the computer worms Nimda, Code Red and Sapphire. The deficiencies were first discovered by the company in July 2003, and eEye Digital Security has been working with Microsoft on remedies ever since. The company is recommending using security patches to fix the problem.
■ Trade
UK has record deficit
Britain last year suffered its biggest trade deficit in goods and services since records were first collected by the government more than 300 years ago, it was revealed Tuesday. A deficit of ?3.3 billion in December brought the shortfall for last year to ?35.8 billion, compared with some ?31.4 billion for the previous year, according to data from the UK's Office for National Statistics. The government's breakdown of the figures showed that the deficit in goods stabilized at just over ?46 billion but that the past 12 months saw a marked deterioration in the services sector, normally a source of considerable strength for the nation's current account.
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