■ Semiconductors
Micron to build China plant
US memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc plans to build its first factory in China, to assemble and test semiconductors, the company said yesterday. "If negotiations are smooth, we can start construction by the middle of next year," said Charles Xu, Shanghai-based corporate affairs and communications manager for Boise, Idaho-based Micron, one of the world's leading memory chip makers. Micron currently does sales, marketing and chip design in China and plans to spend "likely more" than US$100 million over the next three to five years, Xu said.
■ Virus protection
Microsoft, Cisco team up
Microsoft Corp and Cisco Systems Inc said yesterday that they plan to work together to help their corporate customers fight back against viruses, worms and other attacks. Each is rolling out a system aimed at helping customers better protect corporate computer networks. By 2007, when Microsoft releases the next version of its Windows server software, the companies plan to make those systems compatible. That would allow corporations to better secure Microsoft's Windows software and Cisco's network infrastructure in one sweep, saving time and money. The system would screen a new computer for viruses or other threats as it enters a corporate network. The goal is to prevent an infected computer from passing the threats on to the rest of the network. "This is a hot issue for our customers and a hot issue for our joint customers, and we are driving together to find a solution," said Bob Kelly, a general manager in Microsoft's Windows Server unit. The companies also hope to create an industry standard for these types of protections.
■ Music industry
Universal slashes prices
Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company, said it has cut the price of single compact discs by almost a quarter in France in an effort to revive sales. Starting today, single CDs will have a suggested retail price of as much as 3.99 euros (US$4.98), Universal Music, a unit of Paris-based Vivendi Universal SA, said in an e-mailed statement. Universal Music is attempting to replicate in France, the world's fourth-largest music market, what it did in the US at the beginning of the year. Universal Music chief executive Doug Morris said last month that a year-long increase in CD sales in the US was due to a combination of lawsuits against alleged Web pirates and Universal Music's program of cutting prices.
■ Auto industry
Peugeot's China sales fall
PSA Peugeot Citroen China's unit is expected to miss its full-year car sales target due to intense competition and slumping sales, state press reported yesterday. Citroen's venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp, one of the country's biggest automakers, sold 46,700 cars in the first half of the year, down from 52,200 a year earlier, and sales were expected to fall further, Citroen managing director Claude Satinet was quoted as saying by the China Daily. The company had been forecasting a 20 percent increase in annual sales to 124,000, compared with a growth rate of 24 percent last year and 60 percent in 2002. Consumer demand for autos has been dampened this year by the government's clampdown on lending to the sector, compounded by fierce competition as many consumers delay purchases in anticipation of lower prices.
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
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
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