■ Airlines
NY-Beijing flights take off
Continental Airlines inaugurated Wednesday a new daily service from New York to Beijing, becoming the first US airline to initiate flights to China in nearly 20 years, the company said. Continentals launched the service from its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport as part of a major international expansion this year, including inauguration of six new transatlantic routes, officials said. The New York-Beijing service is operated with a 283-seat Boeing 777 aircraft. Flight 89 departed early Wednesday for a 13-hour nonstop flight. It is the the only nonstop service between New York and China operated by a US airline.
■ Trade
China to limit textile exports
China will limit the growth of exports of 10 categories of textiles to Europe to between 8 percent and 12.5 percent a year through 2007 under a deal signed last week to end a bitter trade dispute, state media said yesterday. The media reports were the first in which China has given details of the agreement reached last Friday by Commerce Minister Bo Xilai (薄熙來) and his EU counterpart, Peter Mandelson. The EU and the US say soaring imports of low-priced Chinese textiles are threatening their own producers. Washington has unilaterally capped the growth of Chinese textile imports at 7.5 percent this year. Caps imposed by China on growth of 10 types of textile exports to Europe will range from 8 percent a year for pullovers, trousers and blouses to 12.5 percent for sheets and tablecloths.
■ Appliances
Haier `watching' Maytag
Leading Chinese home appliance maker Haier Group (海爾) said yesterday it is "closely watching" developments that may lead to the acquisition of struggling US appliance group Maytag Corp. "Haier Group is closely watching to all relevant developments on the Maytag acquisition but Haier has not made any decision on the matter," Ji Guangqiang, Haier's spokesman said. The Financial Times reported this week that Haier was considering bidding for the US company, which has been struggling against the pressure of rising steel costs and sagging sales of its floor care products. Last month, Ripplewood Holdings posted a US$2.1 billion bid and other private equity firms including Blackstone Group Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts are also reportedly interested.
■ Economy
US inflation `contained'
Inflation appears contained based on the latest data on US consumer and wholesale prices, leading some analysts to predict the Federal Reserve will reconsider its policy of steady interest rate increases. Data Wednesday showed the consumer price index fell 0.1 percent in May, the first decline since July last year. The "core" rate excluding volatile food and energy costs increased a modest 0.1 percent.
■ Chips
Demand to rise: Intel Corp
Intel Corp President and CEO Paul Otellini said yesterday he expects "very seasonal" second-half demand for computer chips, suggesting end-of-year purchases of personal computers and other electronic devices utilizing the key component won't falter. "Given the growth that we've already seen in the first quarter and the guidance for the second quarter, that would imply a very seasonal second half," he said at a press conference in the South Korean capital Seoul.
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
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
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
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