■ 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.
National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday said it disqualified a person from an entrance examination for using AI smart glasses to cheat, along with two others for making untruthful statements in their curriculum vitae. The three applicants were given null scores, Taiwan’s highest-ranked university said, calling on prospective students to be honest in the admissions process. NTU registrar Lee Hung-sen (李宏森) said that the cheating applicant wore a hat and thick-rimmed glasses to the second written exam for medical school, claiming that they felt cold. Suspicions were aroused when the applicant stared oddly at the test for long stretches while steadily bringing the paper
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan. The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat." The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau. Philippine authorities were assessing the damage from the quake, with the office of civil defense seeking to verifying initial reports that 15 people had been killed and 129 injured in the region, mostly from falling debris. Arlene Hollero, disaster chief of Maasim town in the Philippines' Sarangani Province,
‘GRAY ZONE’ PRESSURE: Beijing’s activities are intended to create the deceitful impression that China has jurisdiction over the area around Taiwan, the CGA said Taiwan’s rights over its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone must not be violated by any country, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that it will not accept any unprovoked actions. The council issued the remarks in response to the China Coast Guard conducting maritime enforcement drills near eastern Taiwan and claiming to fully exercise China’s maritime administrative law enforcement authority. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has been closely monitoring the situation and is taking concrete steps to defend the nation’s sovereignty and secure its waters, the council said. China has no sovereign rights over the waters off eastern
Heavy rain is expected to affect parts of Taiwan this week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday as a meteorologist said the active part of the annual plum rain season has started. A stationary plum rain front and southwesterly winds would bring unstable weather and abundant moisture to Taiwan from today for about a week, with the heaviest rainfall forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday, the CWA said. The agency said western and northeastern Taiwan, and mountainous areas in the east and southeast, could expect showers or thunderstorms on those two days, with localized heavy rain possible. Other parts of
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