■ Automobiles
Nissan mulls budget cars
Nissan Motor Co is considering developing low-budget vehicles targeting fast-growing markets in emerging economies, officials said yesterday. Creating an affordable car through alliance with its French partner Renault SA, a forerunner of such products, is a possibility, a Nissan spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. Renault launched the no-frills Logan family sedan in 2004 primarily for developing countries and has set an annual global sales target of 700,000 cars by 2010.
■ Automobiles
Hyundai union to strike
Hyundai Motor Co's labor union voted yesterday to go on strike over a dispute with management over the size of an annual bonus, the head of the union said. Union chief Park Yoo-ki said that 400 representatives of the company's 44,000-strong union voted unanimously in favor of the proposed walkout. Park said the timing and details of the strike were to be decided over the weekend, including whether it would be a full-fledged or partial walkout. Hyundai's union has refused to work overtime since late last month, after workers received a bonus equal to one month's salary, which they say is less than agreed.
■ Automobiles
GM eyes Malaysian Proton
Malaysia confirmed yesterday that General Motors Corp (GM) is discussing taking a stake in struggling automaker Proton, which has also attracted interest from Volkswagen and PSA Peugeot Citroen. "GM is interested in Proton and we are looking at it," Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop told reporters, adding that the government will select a strategic partner for Proton by the end of March. "We have come to the end of our discussion with the various parties and we are now evaluating who is the best," he said. The New Straits Times this week reported that GM is planning to make a bid for Proton.
■ Patents
Starbucks lawsuit rejected
South Korea's Supreme Court rejected a claim yesterday by Starbucks that a local mobile coffee-shop chain infringed on its trademark rights by using a similar brand name and logo, the court said. The Supreme Court upheld an earlier decision handed down by the Patent Court of Korea in March 2005 that Elfreya's trademark and logo are not similar to those of the global cafe chain. The South Korean company was launched in 1999 with the brand name Starpreya and logo of a green circle surrounding the image of what it called a goddess, similar to the well-known Starbucks logo. But the patent court said the two logos were not significantly similar because the Elfreya logo has a goddess while that of Starbucks has a mermaid.
■ Electronics
Canon avoids US suit
Canon Inc, Japan's most profitable electronics and office equipment maker, will buy Toshiba Corp's stake in a flat-panel venture because of a legal dispute with a US company. No financial details were given in a statement released by the two Tokyo-based firms. Kazunori Fukuma, the president of the SED Inc venture, will resign as vice president at Toshiba, and will be hired by Canon to continue serving at the TV subsidiary, the statement said. The transaction takes effect on Jan. 29. Canon is dissolving the partnership to avoid a prolonged court case in the US.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2