■ TRADE
Wu warns US on WTO spat
The top Chinese envoy on trade relations with Washington warned yesterday that US complaints to the WTO over product piracy and media market barriers could harm relations on trade issues. "The adverse impact generated by this would be huge," Vice Premier Wu Yi (吳儀) said at the opening of a government forum on intellectual property protection. "It will also cause serious influence on bilateral intellectual property cooperation under the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade framework and harms the existing cooperative relationship on market access for publications," Wu said. "We will fight to the last minute," she said.
■ INVESTMENT
Bank investment cap raised
Vietnam plans to allow single foreign investors to own up to 15 percent of a domestic bank, up from a 10 percent cap, to boost the investment sector's competitiveness, a government statement said yesterday. The measure is expected to take effect next month. However, the existing 30 percent limit on total foreign ownership in a local bank will remain in place. The government also said that "in special cases," the prime minister of Vietnam will be able to grant investors the right to own as much as 20 percent in a domestic bank. It did not specify what special cases would qualify.
■ TELECOMS
LG developing new phone
LG Electronics said yesterday it is developing a mobile phone which allows users to feel broadcasts as well as seeing and hearing them. LG Electronics spokesman Song Keun-young said the phone can vibrate when a shot hits the net in a football game or a car hits the wall in a TV drama. "If a bomb explodes in an action movie, light-emitting diodes blink in tune with the audio-visual content, on display in three dimensions," Song said. LG plans to market new models using the three-dimensional and sensing technology next year after securing content, he said.
■ TELECOMS
Watchdog fines companies
South Korea's telecoms watchdog said yesterday it has fined the country's four mobile service providers a total of US$21 million for luring subscribers in the fiercely competitive market with illicit subsidies. The Korea Communications Commission said it imposed a total of 19.6 billion won (US$21.2 million) in fines, including 7.5 billion won for top provider SK Telecom. KTF and LG Telecom were penalized 5.8 billion won and 4.7 billion won, respectively while KT Corp was fined 1.6 billion won. The government in March 2003 banned handset subsidies aimed at attracting new subscribers.
■ AVIATION
Boeing receives big order
US aerospace giant Boeing and Aviation Capital Group said on Monday that the big leasing firm had placed an order worth US$1.6 billion for 20 new Boeing jets. The deal includes 15 next-generation 737 jets and five 787, fuel efficient, Dreamliner aircraft. Boeing had previously attributed the hefty sales contract to an unidentified buyer. Aviation Capital is one of the world's largest aircraft leasing groups and already has 138 Boeing aircraft in its fleet. The companies' statement did not divulge delivery details.
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