■ Music Piracy
IFPI to sue in Asia, Europe
The international record industry expanded its fight against music piracy yesterday, announcing that it will file hundreds more lawsuits across Europe and Asia against individuals and groups it accuses of illegally sharing music through the Internet. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said its affiliates are filing 963 new cases and are also adding five new countries to the list of litigation. In the new wave of lawsuits, Japan becomes the first Asian country to launch legal action against music piracy. It is also the first time such action has been taken in the Netherlands, Iceland, Finland and Ireland. Kazaa, which used to be the largest and most popular file-sharing service, has seen its users drop by approximately 45 percent -- from 4.2 million to 2.3 million concurrent users -- since the start of the warning and litigation campaign, the IFPI said.
■ Airlines
State aid row heats up
The future Airbus A350 aircraft, designed to rival Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, could be the first victim of a lengthy dispute between the EU and the US over state aid to the aeronautics sector. Brussels and Washington failed to meet their self-imposed deadline Monday to achieve a negotiated agreement on subsidies to Boeing and Airbus. The US has bitterly opposed European plans to subsidize the A350 and has threatened to seek arbitration by the WTO if the EU allows aid to the project before the end of bilateral negotiations. The situation has stymied the European aircraft maker, which intended to ask its four participating countries, Britain, France, Germany and Spain, for aid to finance the A350. The project's cost is estimated at 4 billion euros (US$5.19 billion).
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
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