■ ENERGY
China mulls new pipeline
China, the world's second-largest energy consumer, may start building another pipeline carrying gas from its western regions to the east to meet the rising demand there. "The feasibility study is expected to be completed within the year," Jiang Xinmin, an expert with the National Development and Reform Commission's Energy Research Institute, told reporters at an oil conference in Shanghai on Saturday. China, which uses coal to supply two-thirds of its electricity, plans to increase consumption of gas to 8 percent of its total energy use in 2010 from about 3 percent now to reduce pollution.
■ ECONOMY
`Tankan' survey out today
Japan's central bank could set the scene for another interest rate rise this week when it publishes a key survey expected to show solid corporate sentiment and rising investment, analysts said. The Bank of Japan's quarterly "Tankan" survey, due today, is likely to show confidence holding firm close to a two-year high, they said. Major companies are also expected to have upgraded their capital expenditure on new plants and equipment, helping to maintain Japan's longest sustained expansion since World War II.
■ ENERGY
President defends rationing
Iran's president on Saturday defended a rationing scheme to cut back on gas guzzling in the world's fourth-largest oil producer, saying even tighter controls are on the way. "In recent days, gasoline consumption has dropped from 80 million liters per day to 70 million and [it] must go down to less than 60 million liters per day," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, as cited by the official news agency IRNA. Ahmadinejad's government last Tuesday night suddenly announced gas rationing throughout Iran, saying private cars using gas would be limited to 100 liters of gas a month and those using both gasoline and liquefied gas would only be allowed 30 liters.
■ EMPLOYMENT
Group urges enforcement
An influential European business group yesterday said China must ensure a new law to help workers is respected, as the effectiveness of similar legislation has been "non-existent" in the past. A controversial bill on contract labor approved on Friday will safeguard job conditions but it must be enforced, the EU Chamber of Commerce in China said. "There is no doubt that the passing of the law and its strict implementation will drastically improve the working conditions in China," the statement said. But it warned of the dangers of non-compliance by companies and previous non-enforcement of existing laws by the authorities.
■ AUTOMAKERS
Nanjing Fiat plan agreed
China's Nanjing Auto and Italy's Fiat SpA have agreed to invest an additional 3 billion yuan (US$400 million) in their troubled joint venture Nanjing Fiat, Xinhua news agency said yesterday. According to earlier reports, Fiat was considering ending its partnership with Nanjing Auto because the Chinese side had delayed planned investment in the joint venture. The two sides also reportedly were at odds over a potential tie-up between Fiat and rival Chinese automaker Chery Automobile. "With the help of the government departments in Jiangsu Province, the two companies became reconciled," Xinhua said.
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