■ Health
Panel lifts cow-testing rule
An advisory panel agreed yesterday that Japan could stop testing cows under 20 months old for mad cow disease without posing a risk to public health, a news report said. The finding could lead to Japan lifting its demand that the US test its entire herd for the disease before Tokyo will lift its nine-month-old ban on US beef imports. Japan banned imports of US beef in December after the discovery of that country's first case of the disease, and the two governments have been negotiating a lifting of the ban. Japan was the most lucrative overseas market for US beef. At present, Japan requires the testing of all cows for the disease, and has been urging the US to impose a similar system.
■ Oil
OPEC head: prices to fall
Crude oil prices are expected to fall over the coming two months as supply uncertainties fade and markets settle on the expectation of a smooth US presidential election, OPEC's president said yesterday. "Future trading for September-October indicates a trend toward a drop in prices and this is good news," Purnomo Yusgiantoro, who is also Indonesia's energy minister told reporters. He said prices would begin to slide ahead of the US presidential vote in November, which is expected to proceed without a hitch, and the resolution of problems with Russian oil giant Yukos. In London, the price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in October fell US$0.34 to US$41.23 a barrel on Friday.
■ Pharmaceuticals
China defends Viagra case
China yesterday defended its decision to overturn US-based Pfizer's patent for Viagra in a ruling that was widely seen as a setback to protection of intellectual property rights in the country. Deputy head of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) Zhang Qin said the patent license originally granted in 2001 was invalidated after experts reviewed the case in response from complaints by more than 10 Chinese pharmaceutical companies. "The major reason for the patent office to do so was because the technological disclosure made in the patent's explanation document was insufficient," Zhang said at a press conference. The patent for the top selling erectile dysfunction drug was revoked by SIPO in July.
■ Investment
Japanese firms spend more
Capital expenditure by non-financial Japanese companies in the April to June quarter rose 10.7 percent from a year earlier, marking the fifth straight quarterly increase, the Japanese government said yesterday. Manufacturers' combined investment in machinery and equipment gained 5.6 percent while non-manufacturers' investment rose 13.0 percent in the quarter, the finance ministry said. "Among manufacturers, investment rose in the sectors involving electric machinery, telecommunications machinery and general machinery while it fell in the transportation machinery sector," the ministry said. Among non-manufacturers, investment rose in the service and retail sectors, though it fell in the real estate and electricity sectors, it said. The ministry surveyed 26,271 companies with capital exceeding ¥10 million (US$90,500) and received effective replies from 20,599.
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
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
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