■ Forecasts
Automation to cost jobs
Automation of infotech infrastructure services and business processes is set to result in significant job losses in developed countries starting next year, a study forecast yesterday. More niche jobs will be on the line in parts of Asia, the US and Europe, according to research house Gartner Inc. The impact will be felt predominantly by IT departments in large companies and external service providers over the next two to 10 years. "The trend toward offshore services has monopolized attention in terms of job losses," Glanluca Tramacere, Gartner's IT services analyst, told The Business Times. The increasing reliance on highly automated infra-structures "will significantly reduce the need for manual procedures and direct involvement of the workforce," he added.
■ Mobile Phones
NEC eyeing 3G in China
Japanese electronics giant NEC Corp said yesterday it is seeking to build third-generation (3G) mobile phone infrastructure in China in a bid to gain a foothold in the world's biggest mobile phone market. NEC said it had been in talks with China Mobile Communications Corp, the country's biggest mobile phone operator, and China Telecommunications Corp to sell 3G equipment. Beijing is expected to allow local telecommunications firms to offer 3G services next year, the Nihon Keizai business daily said. "We are ready to enter the 3G market in China," said NEC spokes-woman Akiko Shikimori. NEC has set up a showroom for 3G ground stations and other equipment in Guang-zhou and plans to sell 3G-related equipment.
■ Flat Panels
Samsung ahead of schedule
Samsung Electronics Co, the world's largest maker of flat panels used in televisions and monitors, may begin running its newest liquid crystal display (LCD) plant ahead of schedule in anticipation of rising demand for LCD TVs. The Suwon, South Korea-based budgeted an initial 286.7 billion won (US$274 million) to build the 7-2 plant, located west of the current line that Samsung jointly invested in with Japan's Sony Corp, Samsung said yesterday in a state-ment. Smaller rival LG Philips LCD Co said on Dec. 1 it plans to spend a record 5.3 trillion won to build the world's largest LCD plant. Samsung said production from the plant, whose dimensions and capacity have not yet been decided, is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2006. Spokesman Kim Chung Hyun said in May that the company planned to begin production from a new plant, geared to make LCD TV panels measuring more than 40 inches diagonally, during the second half of 2006.
■ Currencies
China reiterates yuan policy
The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, reiterated yesterday its intent to maintain the basic stability of the yuan's exchange rate at "rational" and "balanced" levels. The monetary policy committee of the central bank, in its fourth quarter regular meeting, said it would further improve the exchange rate system and maintain the basic stability of the currency. China's currency has been pegged at around 8.28 to the dollar for the past decade but policy-makers have been coming under increasing pressure to revalue the yuan. Beijing has long stated it wants to make its foreign exchange regime more flexible but it has declined to give a specific timetable for its plans.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique