■ PROCUREMENT
China vows equal treatment
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday promised to treat foreign firms equally in government procurement, amid growing complaints that China’s business climate has worsened, state media said. “With regard to government purchases and construction projects, the Chinese government will adopt an open, transparent plan to let foreign companies and technological products enjoy equal treatment,” Xi said, according to state-run television. Xi said at an investment forum that China was taking “a serious and responsible attitude” in talks to join the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Suzuki expanding in India
India’s leading car maker, Japan-owned Maruti Suzuki, said yesterday it would invest ¥35 billion (US$416 million) to build a new factory to meet growing local demand. “We had not estimated the pace at which car demand would grow [in India],” Suzuki Motor Corp chairman Osamu Suzuki said in a speech to Maruti Suzuki shareholders. The new factory will be the third unit at Maruti’s complex in Manesar, Haryana state.
■ BONDS
Barroso suggests EU bond
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso yesterday proposed the creation of a joint European bond to finance major infrastructure projects, an idea not shared by all EU members. “Pooling money at the European level allows [EU] member states to cut their costs, avoid overlaps and get a better return on their investment,” Barroso said in a speech before the European Parliament. “We should also explore new sources of financing for major European infrastructure projects. For instance, I will propose the establishment of EU project bonds, together with the European Investment Bank,” he said.
■ ELECTRONICS
Philips to sell stake to fund
Dutch electronics group Philips yesterday said it would sell its remaining equity stake in chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV to its underfunded British pension fund. Philips said it would make a cash contribution of 350 million euros (US$448 million) to the pension fund, which the fund would then use to buy the 17 percent of NXP the Dutch firm still owns. The sale will lead to a gain of 140 million euros in the third quarter, Philips said.
■ ELECTRONICS
Samsung mulls Google TV
Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s largest television manufacturer, may manufacture sets run by Google Inc’s software to compete with Sony Corp and Apple Inc in the market for TVs that access movies, shows and games online. “We will have to see, but we are reviewing” whether to use Google’s Android operating system, Yoon Boo-keun, head of Samsung’s TV business, told reporters yesterday on the sidelines of a forum in Seoul. A key question is whether South Korean movie, TV and music providers will cooperate with Google, he said.
■ INTERNET
AOL adds DeGeneres
AOL is adding talk show host Ellen DeGeneres to its family of Web properties as it looks for ways to draw more people to its sites. The firm was to begin sharing traffic, content and promotions with the Web site for The Ellen DeGeneres Show” yesterday. AOL sites such as KitchenDaily.com and Popeater will promote DeGeneres and provide links to her site, and vice versa.
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
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
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
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