■ Bankings
Chinese staffers disciplined
China Construction Bank has disciplined 40,000 officials and Bank of China at least 18,000 over the misappropriation of funds and issuing of unauthorized loans, a press report said yesterday. The disciplinary action came as the state-owned banks restructure and clean up their bad debts as they prepare for public listings this year, the South China Morning Post reported, citing Guo Shuqing (郭樹清), director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Some of the cases have resulted in legal action. In others, the officials were disciplined by the banks or issued warnings, it said. Both lenders are investigating thefts by branch officials involving million of dollars in the northwestern rust-belt provinces.
■ Communications
Microsoft goes real-time
Microsoft Corp on Tuesday announced an aggressive move in the growing software niche of real-time communications that uses instant messaging, Web conferencing and Internet telephony to keep office workers in closer touch. The Microsoft Office unit will debut three products over the next several months as part of its emphasis on "real-time collaboration," chairman Bill Gates told a press conference. The software will allows users to write messages in chat groups, watch real-time videos at their computer terminals, receive phone messages delivered by e-mail, edit Word documents, present PowerPoint displays and conduct instant online polls simultaneously with more than 1,000 people worldwide.
■ Investing
Telstra auction mulled
Australia's government will consider an Internet share auction similar to Google Inc's initial public offering as part of the sale of its A$35 billion (US$28 billion) stake in Telstra Corp, the nation's largest phone company. The government is seeking an adviser to undertake a study into a possible auction of its remaining 51.8 percent stake in the Melbourne-based phone company, according to tender documents on the government's Web site. The government is looking to limit fees paid to bankers in what will be Australia's biggest-ever stock sale.
■ Retailing
Aeon eyes Carrefour outlets
Japan's largest retailer Aeon said yesterday that it has been in "talks" with Carrefour following a report that it was planning to buy the French retailer's eight Japanese outlets. "The two firms have been engaged in certain discussions although I cannot disclose the nature of the talks," an Aeon spokesman said. The Asian Wall Street Journal said yesterday that Carrefour had decided to pull out of the Japanese market and had sealed a deal to sell its eight stores to Aeon. The deal was expected to be announced later this week, the report said.
■ Aviation
JAL planning job cuts
Asia's biggest airline Japan Airlines (JAL) plans to cut 6,000 jobs in the next two years under a new business revival plan, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper said yesterday. JAL will also cut executives salaries by 20 to 35 percent, the newspaper said, without citing sources. At the same time, JAL will appoint a new chief executive officer now that the current management has set the company on course for further corporate reorganization, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said. JAL will announce the new business plan today.
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