■ Cell phones
TV-on-phone launches
South Korea's satellite-based "TV-on-your-palm" service went into commercial operation yesterday after a four-month trial run, its operator TU Media Corp said. The service, which allows cell phones to be tuned to TV programming or other digital content via satellites, began with seven video and 20 audio channels available, TU Media said. South Korea in January became the world's second country to launch the satellite-based DMB (digital multimedia broadcasting), although it was on a test run. Japan has been offering the services since last year using its own satellite-based DMB technology. TU Media, affiliated with South Korea's largest mobile carrier SK Telecom, plans to expand the service to some 40 channels. By the year 2012, the global market for DMB phones alone is expected to be US$3 billion, according to the institute.
■ Semiconductors
New Intel CPUs to ship soon
Intel's first dual core processors are expected on the market by next month. The new CPUs with two processor cores will be called Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition, reports the Munich-based computer magazine PC Professionell. The chips will offer 2.8 to 3.2 gigahertz of processing speed. The upcoming processors represent Intel's shift to a new technology that will allow several operating systems to exist simultaneously on virtually divided machines, the magazine claims. The systems would then be able to work completely separately from one another. Intel competitor AMD is working on a similar technology, under the working title Pacifica.
■ Energy
Beijing sets up task force
China has confirmed its intention to set up a special task force to deal with its two-year-old energy crisis, state media reported yesterday. The task force, or "leading group," will be in charge of creating a uniform plan for the country's energy policies, but will try to avoid interfering in the business of the nation's oil companies, the Xinhua news agency reported. The new leading group will be based on an existing energy bureau at the commission, according to Xinhua, which did not indicate when the group would be formally set up. Reflecting the importance attached to energy issues, the task force will be headed by Ma Kai (馬凱), the minister in charge of the commission. Economic growth in China reached an eight-year high of 9.5 percent last year, with the unwelcome side effect that two thirds of the country's provinces reported energy shortages.
■ Automobiles
Hyundai shares could fall
Shares of Hyundai Motor Co. may fall as the Korean automaker suffers from rising raw material costs, a rising Korean won and "short-term labor trouble," Barron's reported. A gain in the won against the US dollar and the euro made Korean exports, including autos from Hyundai, less competitive, which cut the value of Hyundai's overseas profit in its most recent quarter, Barron's said. A turnaround in Korea's domestic auto market, which accounts for a third of the company's total sales, shows no sign of materializing, the weekly newspaper reported. Hyundai is also "entering a season of labor disputes," Barron's said. Still, those weaknesses may present a buying opportunity, Barron's said, citing Wendy Trevisani, a money manager at Thornburg Investment Management.
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