■ Automobiles
Kia workers strike
Workers demanding higher wages and better working conditions launched a five-day partial strike Monday at Kia Motors, crippling operations at South Korea's second largest carmaker. Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor, said its 27,000 unionized workers downed tools for four hours Monday. The stoppage, which union leaders said will continue until Friday, will cost 100 billion won (US$97 million) in losses, the firm said. Kia workers are demanding an 8.4 percent increase in salaries and a special bonus. But management has rejected union demands, citing a prolonged slump in domestic demand.
■ Electronics
LCD supplies to shrink
Worldwide oversupply of liquid crystal displays will shrink this quarter as glitches by Canon Inc equipment disrupt panel production and demand rises more than anticipated, an industry researcher said. Third-quarter LCD supply will exceed demand by 4.9 percent, down from 7.2 percent oversupply a year earlier and a 10.4 percent glut in the second quarter, Henry Wang (王鶴偉), chief executive of Taipei-based WitsView, said in an interview. In June, Wang projected third-quarter oversupply would be 9.8 percent. Problems associated by Canon-made steppers, which are scanners used in panel production, are causing production delays for smaller LCD manufacturers, Wang said.
■ Telecoms
Cheap phone sales to grow
Samsung Electronics Co, the world's third-largest maker of mobile phones, expects to increase the portion of cheaper handsets it sells next year, according to the company's head of telecommunications. "Entry-level phones are going to increase but we will focus on the high-end type of these phones," Lee Ki-tae, president of Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung's telecoms business, said during a press conference in Jeju Island, Korea. Lee said the portion of low-end phones will increase. He declined to provide figures. Nokia Oyj, Motorola Inc, and other handset vendors have said this year they plan to increase their portion of cheaper handsets amid surging demand from several countries, such as India and China.
■ Paper
Firm looks to China
Japan's major paper company and trading house will plant more trees in southern China to maintain steady paper supplies, Kyodo News Service reported yesterday. Japan's Oji Paper Co and Marubeni Corp will start a local enterprise with China's Guangdong Petro-Trade Development Corp. It will be called the Huizhou Nanyou Forest Development Co and will fill a 33,000-hectare property in Huizhou in Guangdong Province with trees by 2008. Oji Paper will cover 30 percent and Marubeni 5 percent of the 100 million yuan (US$12.4 million) in capital while Guangdong Petro-Trade will provide the remainder, Jiji Press reported. The joint operation was expected to provide about 200,000 bone-dry tonnes of wood chips per year. Their second effort since 2001, Marubeni and Oji Paper plan to expand the forestation project by 27,000 hectares in the future, Kyodo News reported.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source