■ FOOD
Seoul to import US beef
South Korea will resume US beef imports which were suspended early this month after inspectors discovered banned bones in one shipment, officials said yesterday. The Agriculture Ministry said it would resume inspections of US beef on Monday, removing a potential irritant in trade relations. A spokesman said Washington had admitted in a letter that the shipment of backbones and ribs -- designated as risk material for mad cow disease -- had been sent by mistake. "However, we will maintain a ban on US beef processing centers that shipped banned bones," he said. US beef imports had been suspended several times since South Korea last year relaxed a three-year total ban imposed to keep out mad cow disease.
■ TRADE
PRC launches crackdown
China has launched a four-month "war" on tainted food, drugs and exports, state media reported yesterday, as beleaguered officials embraced time-tested campaign tactics to clean up the nation's battered image. Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi (吳儀) told officials that the campaign, to run to the end of the year, would focus on problem products that have corroded local and foreign consumers' confidence in the "made in China" label. "This is a special battle to protect the health and personal interests of the public and to protect the reputation of Chinese goods and the national image," Wu said in a posting on the government Web site.
■ ENERGY
Alstom wins China contract
Alstom SA has won a 135 million euro (US$183 million) contract from Chinese industrial group Dong Fang for the supply of four steam-turbine generator packages, the French transport and engineering company said yesterday. The turbines provided by Alstom will be used for a new nuclear power plant to be built at Hong Yan He in Liaoning Province, Alstom said in a statement.
■ STEEL
Brazil, China firms team up
Brazilian miner Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) and China's Baosteel Group Corp (寶鋼) have agreed on a joint venture to build a steel slab plant in Brazil, CVRD said yesterday. The Brazilian firm said the plant would be located in Anchieta, in the southeastern Brazilian state of Espirito Santo, and have an annual production capacity of 5 million tonnes of steel slabs. Baosteel, China's biggest steelmaker and parent of Shanghai-listed Baoshan Iron & Steel, will hold up to 80 percent of the joint venture at the initial stage and Vale do Rio will hold the remainder, said the statement, which gave no financial details.
■ ENERGY
Sony unveils sugar battery
Sony Corp said it had developed a prototype battery cell that generates electricity from sugar and carbohydrates. The test cells have achieved output of 50 milliwatts, enough to play music on a Walkman, Sony said. In a demonstration in Tokyo on Thursday, a Sony employee poured a sugary sports drink to power a music player and speakers. Sony said it came up with the battery by studying how living creatures generate energy. Sugar batteries would biodegrade and the source material can be found in plants grown around the world. Plants regenerate through photosynthesis, "underlining the potential for sugar-based bio batteries as an ecologically friendly energy device of the future," Sony said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source