■ PHOTOGRAPHY
Pentax, Hoya deal on hold
Japanese camera maker Pentax Corp said yesterday that it has scrapped a plan to merge with optical glass manufacturer Hoya Corp as its president resigned amid an apparent boardroom rift over the deal. Pentax will shelve the planned merger for now because of the situation within the company and the views of shareholders, but will keep studying the possibility of a tie-up with Hoya, Pentax said in a statement. Pentax also said its president Fumio Urano, 63, had stepped down and board member Takashi Watanuki, 54, will replace him.
■ FAST FOOD
McDonald's, KFC cleared
McDonald's and KFC are allowing union branches in their China outlets, in a nod to the country's state-sanctioned labor federation, while labor officials in Shanghai said yesterday that a probe cleared the companies of any labor violations in that city. McDonald's China began planning to set up unions in Guangdong Province early this year and will "move on step by step," the company said. Yum Brands Inc, operator of KFC and Pizza Hut, also said it is allowing most of its subsidiaries to join the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the government-affiliated umbrella organization for all labor groups in China.
■ INTERNET
Addicts face penalties
China's growing band of young Internet gamers will face virtual penalties if they stay online for more than three hours, under a new set of rules to combat cyber addiction published yesterday. In the latest measure to combat the problem, eight government departments have issued new rules that will force Internet gaming companies and operators to install and run "anti-addiction" software, the China Daily reported. The new rules will come into force on Sunday, with games to be closed down from July 16 if they are not installed with the anti-addiction software, the China Daily said.
■ BIOTECHNOLOGY
India expanding share
Indian biotechnology firms are set to win a bigger share of the world market for drugs and vaccines, perhaps mimicking the success of Indian information technology firms, a study said on Monday. "India is innovating its way out of poverty and ill health," said Peter Singer of the McLaughlin-Rotman Center for Global Health in Toronto, Canada, of the report about 21 Indian biotechnology companies. The study, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, said that India had to take steps to ensure a continued focus on treating illnesses at home, ranging from tuberculosis to malaria, even while it sought to expand biotech industry exports.
■ TELECOM
Nokia, Qualcomm pact over
A licensing agreement between Nokia Corp and Qualcomm Inc expired yesterday, potentially heralding a new wave of lawsuits between the wireless industry leaders. The high-stakes dispute centers on royalties for a standard known as wideband CDMA, which is growing quickly in Europe and elsewhere. Qualcomm, the world's No. 2 chipmaker for mobile phones and licenses its technology patents, wants to renew terms of a 2001 licensing pact. Nokia, the world's largest handset maker, wants to reduce payments to Qualcomm. The dispute is unlikely to affect users, Nokia spokesman William Plummer 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)