■ Japan
Toyota keeps eyes glued
Japanese automaker Toyota has developed a safety technology that it says will keep the driver's eyes on the road. An image-processing computer system developed by Toyota Motor Corp and a Toyota affiliate uses a camera near the steering wheel to detect when the driver stops looking straight ahead. The system flashes a light on the dashboard display and emits a beeping noise when the eyes start to wander. If the driver still doesn't respond, brakes kick in, Toyota said yesterday. The feature will be offered in Lexus luxury models set to be sold in Japan in spring next year.
■ South Korea
Roh calls for integration
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun called yesterday for efforts to integrate the Asia-Pacific economies, saying it will bring a "brighter future" for the region. Roh made the remark at the opening ceremony of this year's meeting of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in Seoul which wraps up today. He said seeking a regional economic bloc like the EU and the North American Free Trade Agreement would be "far more efficient" than pursuing individual free-trade agreements between countries. "There is much to be done for the sake of a brighter future for the Asia-Pacific region," Roh told the forum, according to prepared comments provided by his office. "Compared with the EU and the NAFTA, the level of economic integration is still low."
■ Hong Kong
BA fined for rights violation
British Airways PLC has been fined HK$5,000 (US$641) after pleading guilty to violating the labor rights of the head of its Hong Kong cabin crew union, officials said yesterday. In the first successful prosecution of its kind in Hong Kong, the airline pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of preventing or deterring union leader Carol Ng from exercising her labor rights under Hong Kong laws, judiciary spokesman Mackenzie Mak said. The airline allegedly "informally monitored" Ng and issued written and verbal warnings to her last August in an attempt to deter her from taking part in union activities, according to a Labor Department summons. British Airways said it accepted the court ruling and felt "comfortable that this low fine reflects the seriousness of the case."
■ Hong Kong
Disneyland mulls long hours
Hong Kong Disneyland said yesterday it is considering extending opening hours and adding more shows as the territory's Financial Secretary expressed concern about the large crowds and long lines when the park is operating at its capacity. "The queues are really long," when the park is filled to its capacity of 30,000 people, financial secretary Henry Tang said late on Monday. "We don't want tourists to think it's a downer to have to queue up for so long," Tang said. The park officially opens next Monday, but it has already been receiving guests on a number of rehearsal days. The park has been open from 10am to up to 9pm during the rehearsal days. Hong Kong Disneyland is expected to draw 5.6 million people in its first year of operation, with mainland Chinese tourists accounting for about a third of that number.
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