■ Technology
China IT to grow 20%
China's market for information technology services is expected to grow 20.6 percent annually for the next five years, state media said yesterday. The prediction by the China Center of Information Industry Development (CCID) is based on the rapid rate of growth in the past year, according to the China Economic Times. Last year, China's IT service market volume hit 82.27 billion yuan (about US$10.2 billion), up 20.1 percent year-on-year, the Times quoted a CCID report as saying. The sector is booming partly due to rising computer sales and Internet usage. In last year about 19.9 million personal computers were sold in the Chinese market, with sales volume totaling 121.09 billion yuan, up 18.8 percent and 8.7 percent year-on-year, according to CCID figures. The number of Internet users has also risen to more than 110 million in the past year.
■ Fast Food
McDonald's faces lawsuits
McDonald's Corp faces at least three lawsuits claiming the fast-food giant misled the public after it acknowledged earlier this week its french fries contain milk and wheat ingredients. Debra Moffatt seeks unspecified damages in a lawsuit filed on Friday in Chicago, Illinois. Her attorney, Thomas Pakenas, said his client has celiac disease, which causes gastro-intestinal symptoms set off by eating gluten, a protein found in wheat. Jack Daly, McDonald's senior vice president, said in a statement the company had not reviewed the case yet and is testing its fries for gluten through a food allergy research program at the University of Nebraska. Mark and Theresa Chimiak sued on Friday in Florida, claiming their five-year-old daughter has an intolerance to gluten and became seriously ill after eating the fries.
■ Malaysia
20 million tourists hoped for
Malaysia is hoping to attract some 20.1 million tourists in next year, up from 15.7 million in 2004 and hopes to increase revenues by 50 percent, officials were quoted as saying yesterday. The government is hoping the increased numbers of tourists will bring in a record 44.5 billion ringgit (US$12 billion) next year, up from 29.7 billion ringgit in 2004, tourism ministry Secretary-General Victor Wee was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency. Malaysia is planning the boost in visitor numbers to coincide with celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the country's independence. Wee said he expected the bulk of the tourists to continue coming from Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
■ Pharmaceuticals
Fuji expands to drug game
Japan's Fuji Photo Film is expanding into the pharmaceutical business as part of its efforts to cope with a continual decline in the photographic film market, a press report said yesterday. Fuji Film, the world's No. 2 in color film sales, recently bought a 22-percent stake in Perseus Proteomics Inc, a Tokyo startup involved in developing new drugs, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. Company officials were not immediately available to confirm the report. Fuji Film plans to develop new drugs for cancer and diabetes and will try to promote medical-related business operations using the company's expertise in chemical compounds, the major business daily said. The company spent about ¥1 billion (US$8.5 million) to buy its share of Perseus Proteomics.
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
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
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