■ Oil
Shanghai exchange reopens
The Shanghai Petroleum Exchange resumed business yesterday after a 12-year hiatus, a step toward the eventual lifting of domestic controls on gas and oil prices. The limited reopening of spot trading in oil products is intended to help China's state-run petroleum companies familiarize themselves with the international market, state media reported. The exchange plans to later begin trading of other petroleum and chemical products, including crude oil, natural gas and liquefied gas. The petroleum exchange was first set up in 1993 but was closed a year later when the government clamped down on speculative trading.
■ Aviation
Air China shares drop
Shares in China's flag carrier, Air China Ltd (中國民航), opened 0.7 percent down from their initial public offering price yesterday, reflecting the dismal outlook for airline earnings due to high fuel prices, analysts said. State-owned Air China's initial performance compared with 50 percent to 80 percent gains typical of most IPO debuts. Earlier this month, the company cut the number of shares it was issuing by nearly 40 percent due to weak demand. The airline raised up to 4.6 billion yuan (US$575 million) in the IPO this month on the Shanghai exchange, issuing 1.639 billion shares at 2.80 yuan each.
■ Internet
Warner mulls YouTube deal
US recording label Warner Music said on Thursday it was in talks with the phenomenally popular Internet site YouTube to post its artists' song videos online. "I can confirm that we are having discussions with YouTube," Warner Music spokeswoman Amanda Collins said, declining to give any further details. The Wall Street Journal said that major labels Universal Music, EMI and Warner Music were all exploring "possible arrangements with YouTube." Britain's EMI is discussing "a variety of different business models" about distributing its music content via the site, the newspaper quoted a spokesman for the London-based company as saying.
■ Automobiles
Hyundai denies Jag interest
Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea's largest automaker, said yesterday it has no interest in acquiring Ford Motor Co's luxury Jaguar brand. In a statement, Hyundai said it once studied the acquisition of a "luxury nameplate like Jaguar, but that option was dropped in view of our immediate priorities," described as expanding production at overseas plants. Though Ford says it has no plans to sell any of its brands, industry analysts have speculated that the No. 2 US automaker may be forced to act to stem red ink.
■ Internet
Google to power China.com
Google technology will power China.com's online search engine under the terms of a partnership announced on Thursday. In Google's most comprehensive business alliance since entering the China market, it will support China.com searches for online content in English and traditional Chinese, the companies said in a release. "We are excited about our partnership with China.com and we expect our current partnership to bring significant strategic benefits. We are also looking forward to exploring further areas where our companies can cooperate," said Johnny Chou (周韶寧), Google president of sales and business development in Greater China.
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
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
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
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