■ Electronics
Foxconn sues journalists
Two journalists from a leading Chinese financial newspaper have been sued for defamation by an Apple subcontractor seeking 30 million yuan (US$3.75 million) in damages, state press reported yesterday. A Chinese court has frozen the assets of two China Business News reporters pending a hearing filed by the subsidiary of Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group (鴻準精密) which manufactures iPods for US based Apple Inc, the China Daily said. In what is believed to be the biggest defamation case in China ever, Hongfujin Precision Industry (鴻富錦精密工業), based in the south Chinese city of Shenzhen, has charged that a story on working conditions carried by the newspaper was inaccurate and had defamed the company.
■ Telephony
SK Telecom/China link up
South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom said yesterday it has agreed with the Chinese government to cooperate in developing third-generation (3G) mobile technologies. SK Telecom said the deal with the National Development and Reform Commission would help the South Korean company strengthen its foothold in China's fast-growing wireless telephone market. SK Telecom said it would establish a joint research center in China to develop a 3G mobile telecom standard, promoted by China, called time division-synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA). It also plans to build an experimental TD-SCDMA station in South Korea next year. SK Telecom, which controls more than half of South Korea's wireless market, has expanded its business in China, the world's largest and fastest-growing mobile phone market, as it seeks a way to meet strong domestic competition.
■ Energy
BP exec to give deposition
A Texas judge has ordered BP PLC's chief executive to give a deposition related to the explosion that killed 15 people last year at the company's Texas City refinery, a plaintiff attorney said. Judge Susan Criss of the 212th District Court ruled on Monday that Lord John Browne and BP Global refining and marketing chief John Manzoni must give depositions in the lawsuit filed by accident survivors and victims' families, said lead plaintiff attorney Brent Coon. A spokesman for the London-based energy company said BP will appeal the decision. "Neither John Browne nor John Manzoni have unique knowledge of the accident at the Texas City plant," BP Americas spokesman Neil Chapman said. He said BP attorneys have already granted plaintiffs access to upper-level executives with direct knowledge of the incident. Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they have deposed about 75 company executives.
■ Trade
EU drops tariff threat
The EU dropped a threat to impose tariffs on safety shoes from China and India as the bloc targets Chinese and Vietnamese leather footwear instead. The EU ended an inquiry into whether Chinese and Indian exporters of shoes with protective toecaps sell the goods in Europe below domestic prices or below the cost of production, a practice known as "dumping." Construction and factory workers wear the shoes. "The present proceeding should be terminated," the European Commission said yesterday in the Official Journal.
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
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