■ Trade
Japan imposes tariffs on US
Japan's Cabinet formally approved a decision to impose 15 percent retaliatory tariffs on US steel imports. The Trade Ministry announced earlier this month that US steel products, including ball bearings and airplane parts, would face the levies starting Sept. 1 in retaliation for American steel industry protection measures. The tariffs, which could rise as high as 5.7 billion yen (US$51 million), will be the first time Japan takes such retaliatory action against a trade partner. The Japanese decision follows similar moves by the 25-nation EU and Canada, which slapped penalty tariffs on millions of dollars' worth of US imports in retaliation for the amendment on May 1.
■ Electronics
Sharp aims to double sales
Electronics maker Sharp said yesterday it aims to double sales of its hot-selling liquid crystal display (LCD) flat televisions in Europe where the Japanese firm is lagging behind foreign rivals. Sharp has set a new target of selling over one million LCD TVs in Europe in the current fiscal year to March 2006, double its European sales a year earlier. While Sharp enjoys some 50 percent share in Japan's LCD TV market, its share in Europe stands around 20 percent, lagging behind European makers and South Korea's Samsung Electronics. Demand for LCD TVs with screens of 10 inches or larger is expected to surge 80 percent to 4.5 million units in Europe next year, expanding faster than in the US and Japan.
■ Telecoms
Australia may upgrade
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday he was considering a five billion dollar (US$3.85 billion) plan to upgrade phone and internet services in rural areas as proposed by the country's main telecommunications company, Telstra. Telstra chief executive Solomon Trujillo suggested the plan during a meeting with Howard and senior ministers on Thursday after announcing the company's record net profit of 4.45 billion dollars for the last financial year. The government wants to sell its remaining 51.8 percent stake in Telstra but has faced dissent from backbenchers who fear the full privatization of the company would disadvantage services for those living in the outback. Trujillo reportedly wants the five billion dollar fund, financed by the government and Telstra, to cover the cost of introducing and establishing a broadband network and other services in country areas. Under the plan, Telstra will also be forced to give rivals such as Singapore Telecom's subsidiary Optus better access to its network.
■ Banking
China's rules to change
The Banking Regulatory Commission, China's banking regulator, has issued rules on money broking that allow qualified international brokers to set up operations with local partners. The rules allow for trial operations by international money brokers with more than 20 years of professional experience and two years in China but require them to find local joint venture partners. The new rules, which take effect Sept. 1, are aimed at helping Chinese companies to learn the money brokerage business. They did not say exactly when money brokering businesses would be allowed to start business. The banking watchdog said it expected the program to help improve money market operations, increase transparency and promote the development of China's financial markets. Money brokers in China will mainly be allowed to trade in currencies, bonds and financial derivative markets, both domestically and overseas. They must have a minimum registered capital of 20 million yuan (US$2.5 million), it said.
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
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