■ Trade
WTO chief warns on talks
WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi warned the 147 WTO mem-ber states on Monday that failure to re-energize global trade talks by the end of this month could freeze liberal-ization for years to come. Supachai released a written statement as negotiators gathered at the WTO for discussions on a draft compromise proposal aimed at unlocking stalled trade talks by an end-of-the-month deadline. "A failure this month means the continuation of an unsatis-factory status quo, certainly for the remainder of this year and next and possibly for years to come," Supa-chai said. "At a time when protectionist pressures lie just below the surface, when people across the world are demanding change, the 147 member governments of the WTO must deliver," he said.
■ Semiconductors
Hoya profit surges
Hoya Corp, the world's largest supplier of glass plates used by semicon-ductor and flat-panel display makers, said first-quarter profit rose 66 percent as consumers bought more TVs and por-table electronic devices.
Group net income rose to ?16.2 billion(US$149 mil-lion) for the three months ended June 30, from ?9.8 billion a year ago, the com-pany said in a statement. First-quarter sales rose 17 percent to ?75 billion from ?63.9 billion. Hoya is benefiting from growing demand from makers of equipment to build parts for digital consumer products such as liquid crystal display TVs and digital cameras and audio players. Operating profit, general and administrative costs, at its electronics optics division rose 45 percent.
■ Music
EU OKs Sony-BMG link
The EU has approved the merger of Sony Music and Bertelsmann AG's BMG unit in a deal that gives the four "majors" control of about 80 percent of the world music market, a Bertelsmann spokesman said on Monday. "The merger was approved without conditions," said spokesman Oliver Herrge-sell, in a telephone inter-view. The EU's executive body, the European Com-mission, had been widely expected to endorse anti-trust chief Mario Monti's decision to approve the merger. Monti reversed his merger team's initial objec-tions to the deal after two days of closed-door hear-ings last month with the companies and third parties, including independent labels and companies involved in the emerging legal market for online music downloading. Bertels-mann said it is now looking forward to concentrating
on the integration of the two companies. The deal leaves 80 percent of the market
in the hands of four groups: Sony-BMG, Vivendi Uni-versal, EMI and Warner Music. Sony-BMG and Vivendi Universal control about a quarter each.
■ Entertainment
Warner inks cinema deal
Warner Brothers has agreed with a local partner to open 10 multiplex cinemas in cities across China, state media reported yesterday. The deal, signed on Monday with the Guangzhou Jinyi Film and Television Invest-ment Co, calls for Warner Brothers International Cinemas to provide tech-nical support, training and administrative expertise for the theaters, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Warner Brothers will manage and operate the new multiplex cinemas. The new theaters are planned for Beijing, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xian and Hang-zhou, Xinhua 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
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)