While the Cabinet-level Fair Trade Commission has launched an investigation into accusations that Microsoft Taiwan has abused its market dominance to manipulate prices, the vice chairman of the commission told PFP lawmakers yesterday that he couldn't disclose details of the probe while the investigation is underway.
The lawmakers complained that the probe was being conducted at a snail's pace and demanded that the commission release its report within a month.
The vice chairman of the commission, Cheng Yu (
Cheng told them that for the commission to complete its work fairly and efficiently, lawmakers will have to be patient and respect its independence in arriving at a conclusion.
On May 5, PFP lawmakers charged Microsoft with charging unfair prices for its operating systems in Taiwan.
Hsieh Chang-chieh (
Fellow PFP legislator Thomas Lee (
In related news, 10 junior high schools from Taipei and Ilan counties will begin an effort to break the Microsoft monopoly on campuses by forming the Free Software Teaching Coalition starting Aug. 1.
The Taipei County Education Bureau held the first free software workshop at Fu Ying Junior High School (福營國中) in Hsinchuang, Taipei County, yesterday morning to promote the use of free software.
An important figure contributing to the workshop, Mao Ching-chen (毛慶禎), professor of library and information science at the Fu Jen Catholic University, said he found during his trips to 921 earthquake-hit communities that many people were denied access to computers, the Internet and thus information.
And while computers were donated for the quake victims and Aborigines, the high price of software remains beyond their financial reach. This situation became the driving force behind Mao's effort to promote free software.
Fu Ying Junior High School has decided to replace the Microsoft systems initially installed in its 200 computers with Linux and Openoffice, to become Taiwan's first school to use Linux.
Chang Wen-chieh (
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
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