■ Airlines
Union vetos deal
Flight attendants at Amer-ican Airlines on Tuesday voted against a concession agreement, paving the way for an imminent bankruptcy filing by the world's largest carrier, a Dallas news radio station reported. The airline has said that if its three major union groups do not ratify deals that will help save the carrier US$1.8 billion a year in labor costs, American would be forced to file for bankruptcy. The radio station reported that the union had narrowly rejected the deal and was in talks with the airline to see if they could quickly poll their members again. The two other major unions at American had approved concession deals earlier in the day. The Association of Professional Flight Atten-dants voted against a deal that would cut annual pay and benefits collectively by US$340 million.
■ Videogames
Sony drops `shock and awe'
Responding to criticism that it was trying to take advan-tage of the Iraq war for commercial gain, Sony Corp said yesterday it will not use the phrase "shock and awe" for PlayStation videogames made by a subsidiary. A US unit of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc has withdrawn an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to register the phrase for commercial use, a Sony spokeswoman said. The application had been made last month shortly after US-led attack on Iraq began with a strategy of heavy aerial bombardment termed "shock and awe." The company now felt the application was inappro-priate, she said.
■ Digital cameras
Sony recalls cameras
Sony Corp is recalling its Cyber-shot DSC-P1 digital camera sold world wide. Company spokeswoman Mami Imada declined to provide an estimate of the cost of the recall. Sony will repair the defect free of charge. The problem affects the battery, charger and body of the camera, Sony said on its Web site. Industry analysts estimated the recall affects 500,000 units, Kyodo News reported. The recall applies to cameras sold since October 2000, the report said.
■ Labor
Indian workers save money
US companies saved as much as US$8 billion over the past four years by moving work to India, the Business Standard paper reported, citing a study by market research firm, Inductis. General Electric Co saves about US$350 million every year through its 18,000-man operation in the country, the paper said. Companies such as Cisco Systems Inc and Johnson Controls Inc work with Indian software developers such as Infosys Techno-logies Ltd and Wipro Ltd, which use the country's cheap, skilled workforce to deliver computer services. Companies such as Amer-ican Express Co use the country for back-office operations such as proces-sing transactions.
■ Enron
Art collection auction set
Claes Oldenburg's sculpture of a pair of giant electric outlets in bright orange vinyl that was to have adorned Enron's office tower in Houston is just one of 35 works of art heading for the auction block in the coming months. Phillips de Pury & Luxem-bourg said on Monday that it was planning to sell 10 pieces of art next month. In the fall, it plans to sell a group of 25 photographs. A bankruptcy court judge approved Enron's arrangement with Phillips on Tuesday.
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
MAKING PROGRESS: Officials and industry leaders who participated in a defense forum last month agreed that Taiwan has the capabilities to work with the US, the report said Taiwan’s high-tech defense industry is to enhance collaboration with the US to produce weapons needed for self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) discussed building regional and global industry alliances with US partners at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia held from Sept. 22 to Tuesday last week, the ministry said in the declassified portion of the report. The visit contributed to maintaining bilateral ties, facilitated Taiwan’s efforts to acquire weapons and equipment, and strengthened the resilience of the two nation’s defense industries, it said. Taiwan-US ties
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering
RSS