■INTERNET
Google to stop redirect
Google said yesterday it would stop automatically redirecting Chinese users to an uncensored site in Hong Kong, a day before its government license expires, following official complaints. In January, Google effectively shut down its Chinese-language search engine over censorship and cyberattacks, and automatically re-routed users to the Hong Kong site. “It’s clear from conversations we have had with Chinese government officials that they find the redirect unacceptable — and that if we continue redirecting users, our Internet Content Provider license will not be renewed,” Google’s chief legal officer David Drummond said on the company’s blog. “Over the next few days we’ll end the redirect entirely, taking all our Chinese users to our new landing page,” he said, with readers in China being taken to a new page on Google.cn, which would link to the Hong Kong site.
■LEGAL
US anti-fraud law amended
The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down part of an anti-fraud law enacted in response to the Enron and other corporate scandals from the early 2000s, but said its decision has limited consequences. The justices voted 5-4 that the Sarbanes-Oxley law enacted in 2002 violates the Constitution’s separation of powers mandate. The court says the president, or other officials appointed by him, must be able to remove members of a board that was created to tighten oversight of internal corporate controls and outside auditors. Congress created the board to replace the accounting industry’s own regulators amid scandals at Enron Corp, WorldCom Inc, Tyco International Ltd and other corporations. The board has power to compel documents and testimony from accounting firms and the authority to discipline accountants. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, said that the Sarbanes-Oxley law would remain in effect with one change. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will continue as before, but the Securities and Exchange Commission now will be able to remove board members at will. That change, Roberts said, cures the constitutional problem.
■AUTOMOBILES
UK says no more aid
British Business Secretary Vince Cable warned car makers they could no longer rely on direct government aid, saying the “emergency” situation in the industry is over, in comments in the Financial Times (FT) yesterday. The country’s previous Labour administration offered direct support to the sector as the economic crisis sent new car sales plummeting, notably with a scheme allowing motorists to trade in a vehicle for a discount on a new one. However, Cable ruled out “direct support” for companies. “We don’t want to go around the country waving a checkbook,” he told the FT, in comments the paper said were aimed at car makers as he made his way on Monday to a car launch at a Toyota factory in England. “We’re moving away out of an emergency time, and support will come in more indirect ways,” Cable said.
■TECHNOLOGY
Emerson bids for Chloride
US industrial technology company Emerson yesterday raised its offer to buy British power systems group Chloride to almost £1 billion (US$1.5 billion), trumping a rival bid from Swiss engineer ABB. Emerson bid £3.75 per Chloride share, valuing the British group at £997 million, it said in a statement. Emerson’s offer is higher than ABB’s offer of £3.25 a share and £1 higher than the US group’s original bid of £2.75 a share.
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
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft