■ Railways
Japan to test fuel-cell trains
East Japan Railway Co will complete the world's first fuel-cell-powered trains and conduct a test run in July, the company said yesterday. The fuel cells, which generate power from a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, will help reduce environmental pollution compared with the existing electric and diesel engines, the company said. The new power source will also help improve scenery when Japan's web of railroads drops electric power lines. The fuel-cell trains will maintain the current speed of about 100kph.
■ Aviation
China Eastern, SIA in talks
China Eastern Airlines Corp (東方航空) is in talks with Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA) and other potential investors about selling a stake of at least 20 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site. The Shanghai-based airline is talking to "three or four" potential investors, the Journal said, citing chairman Li Fenghua (李豐華). China Eastern, facing higher fuel costs and more competition, posted a net loss for last year on Tuesday.
■ Internet
Yahoo to enhance maps
Yahoo Inc is adding satellite images to its online maps and will display the locations of airports, hotels and other attractions. Users will be able to zoom in on satellite images, see names of roads and move around without having to load a new Web page. A search for hotels will bring up a map showing locations and prices, Jasper Malcolmson, director of Yahoo's travel Web site, said in an interview. Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo also will start inserting travel listings such as hotels and flight prices into search results on its main search site.
■ Banking
Bank of China cleans house
The Bank of China (中國銀行) has fired or dismissed 75 bank officials for corrupt practices in a bid to clean up its operations ahead of a planned Hong Kong listing, state press said yesterday. Among those dismissed from China's second-biggest commercial lender were 11 provincial-level branch managers or deputy managers, the 21st Century Business Herald reported. The report also said 41 branch managers at other levels had also been fired or resigned due to bank irregularities. The action was taken after investigations last year uncovered 52 cases of corruption, the paper said.
■ Internet
Academic search launched
Microsoft Corp introduced a search engine to scour articles in scholarly journals to attract university researchers and match a service from Google Inc. Windows Live Academic Search will include articles from more than 10 publishers and will be available in seven countries. The initial test site will include 8 million articles, said Danielle Tiedt, a Microsoft general manager. Users can see abstracts of articles and click through to full-text versions. They'll need to subscribe to the journals or buy individual articles. Tiedt said there is no money changing hands between Microsoft and the publishers, and the company has no plans to sell ads to appear with search results.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a