■ Telecoms
Nokia announces PRC deal
Nokia Corp yesterday announced a US$150 million deal to further expand mobile phone networks for Henan MCC in China, the company's largest single market area. Deliveries for the contract -- the 11th expansion of GSM networks for Henan Mobile Communication Co -- will begin immediately. The network will be fully operational by the end of September, Nokia said. Nokia has been Henan MCC's major supplier for every GSM expansion since 1995. Henan MCC is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile Ltd.
■ Computers
Apple goes flat-panel only
Apple Computer Inc completely rid its product line of bulky cathode-ray-tube monitors on Wednesday, becoming one of the first major PC makers to sell only flat-panel displays. The California-based maker of Macintosh computers introduced a US$899 iMac specifically for schools and students, replacing the eMac, which was the company's last remaining CRT-based model. Apple was among the first computer companies to bet big on LCD in 2001 when it used the thinner technology to replace all of its CRT displays except for its candy-colored, egg-shaped iMac line.
■ Aviation
Airline offering cheap flights
A start-up budget Hong Kong airline is to offer cut-price introductory fares to London for just US$137 plus tax, the company said yesterday. The Oasis Hong Kong Airlines direct service between Hong Kong and London's Gatwick airport will be launched in October and would go head-to-head with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific, undercutting their lowest fares by hundreds of dollars. A spokeswoman for Oasis said the cheap fare would be based on economy seating in a Boeing 747-400 and feature a basic meal.
■ Computers
Microsoft facing fine
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Microsoft Corp will probably be fined next week for failing to comply with an antitrust order. "I couldn't imagine another way," Kroes told reporters in Berlin, when asked whether EU antitrust regulators would fine the software maker. Member states voted on Monday to support the European Commission's plan to fine Microsoft as much as 2 million euros (US$2.5 million) a day for failing to comply, three people with knowledge of the closed-door meeting said at the time. Representatives of the 25-member EU will meet again on Monday to decide how much to fine Microsoft, they said.
■ Trade unions
Union action planned
Lawmakers in China are planning to take action against US retailing giant Wal-Mart and other foreign firms to force them to allow their staff to join a union, state press said yesterday. Legislators are planning to change the law to force foreign-funded enterprises to establish branches of the Communist Party-run All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) within their companies, Xinhua news agency reported. According to China's trade union law, all employees have the right to join the ACFTU, the country's only legal trade union. The dispute has been a long-running and Wal-Mart said in 2004 that it would allow its staff to join unions while insisting then it had not broken any laws.
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
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
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