■ Internet
Vietnam limits play time
The government is limiting the number of hours that its citizens can spend playing online computer games, an official said yesterday. Regulations go into effect this month to deter playing by preventing gamers from earning points after more than five hours online. A player's virtual character will only be able to earn half the normal amount of points after the first three hours of play. "According to the ordinance, the providers of online games will have to develop software that monitors playing time and controls the scores," said Vu Xuan Thanh, head of the Inspection Department at the Ministry of Culture and Information. The government is hoping to deter people, especially children, from spending hours playing Internet games. The new regulations also require that online players under 14 be accompanied by an adult.
■ Pharmaceuticals
GSK to bid for Pfizer unit
The British-based pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is planning to offer more than US$15 billion for the consumer health care business of its US rival Pfizer, a newspaper said yesterday. The Financial Times, citing people close to the negotiations, said GSK had decided to move ahead with a bid that would turn it into the world's biggest producer of non-prescription drugs and into the second-largest prescription drugs supplier. Bids close on Tuesday for Pfizer's healthcare or "over-the-counter" business. The UK's leading financial news daily said GSK would probably face competition from several firms, including Colgate-Palmolive, Reckitt Benckiser, Johnson and Johnson, Wyeth and Bayer.
■ Economics
China delays cooling moves
China will look to upcoming economic data before deciding on further economic cooling measures such as an interest rate hike or an increase in bank reserve ratios, a report said yesterday. "If data for May and June show that investment and credit continue to post strong growth, the authorities could consider further adjustments to interest rates and to increase the reserve ratio requirement for banks," the National Development and Reform Commission said. "For now we should calmly observe and closely monitor the development in the economy. It is inappropriate to issue further tightening policies in macro-control right now," the commission said in the report carried by the official China Securities Journal.
■ Communications
NTT wary on China, India
Leading Japanese mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo plans to expand further into Asia but the firm sees difficulties in China and India, the company's chief executive said in an interview published yesterday. "In Asia ... no investment may not be a feasible idea," DoCoMo chief executive Masao Nakamura told the Financial Times, adding that the model for its expansion into Europe -- technical alliances without large cash outlays -- might not work in less advanced Asian countries. Nakamura raised doubts about investing in China and India in particular. A lack of clarity in the Chinese market meant "we haven't had any concrete talks ... We're not really sure which operator runs which [mobile] technology," Nakamura said. In India, Vodafone's acquisition of a stake in Bharti Telecom, the Indian operator, meant "we have to think which operator is left and it's going to be difficult," he said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)